Rationality
by PrettyScarySilverFairy
Summary: As you can see, this is no longer a one parter. The story takes place when Rory visits Jess at the bookstore in Philly. It starts off right before they kiss. This is a suggestion as to what should have happened. Pure Lit.
1. Fuck Rationality

A/N: I got a very helpful review suggesting I divide the story into more paragraphs to make it easier to read. So I deleted the original post, made some changes and posted this. More or less the exact same words, but with more paragraphs.

I took the liberty of breaking up Rory and Logan, just to get it out of the way. Hope you don't mind.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

Fuck Rationality

Jess leaned in. "I'm really glad you came."

"Me too." I answered.

Then before I knew what was happening Jess' lips were on mine softly kissing me. It had been so long. So long since I had felt what I felt in that moment. A mixture of feelings that needn't be defined, they just are. I kissed him back. I couldn't help it, it felt too right. It was right. So right that I deepened the kiss. A wave of new emotions swept over me as I felt him eagerly reciprocate. I wanted him closer. I needed him closer. I started to stand up taking him with me and never breaking the kiss. Breathing would have been an issue by now before, but not anymore. I was more experienced now. I knew how to breathe through my nose, and my was I grateful. Had I broken the kiss I might have started to think about what I was doing. Rationality would kick in. The pro and con lists were in the back of my mind threatening to be pushed into conscious thoughts. But I wouldn't let it. For once in my life. Fuck rationality.

We were standing now. Jess' left hand was on the small of my back holding me against him. His right hand tangled in my hair holding my head firmly in place as if I'd run if he let go. My arms were around his waist hugging him tighter by the second. God it felt good. Eventually we broke the kiss and I looked up into his eyes. There was a sparkle there I remembered having seen only a handful of times before. He looked beautiful. I leaned forward and buried my face in the crook of his neck, my arms still tightly around him. As I felt his arms go around me I sighed happily secretly praying he would never let go. We stood like that just holding each other. Really holding each other for the first time in three years. In that moment I knew I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me. To be there for me. Forever.

"I miss you." I whispered into his neck halfway hoping he would hear it and halfway hoping he wouldn't.

"I miss you too." He whispered in my ear and placed a swift kiss on my earlobe.

I smiled and kissed his neck softly. I felt his throat almost vibrate under my lips as he softly moaned. It was all the encouragement I needed. I trailed more kisses up his neck. Then his jaw line. Then his chin. Then my lips finally reached his and we were once again kissing. His tongue came into my mouth and the passion grew rapidly. My hands travelled over his chest touching, feeling and memorizing. In case this never happened again I knew I'd always remember. I would never forget. My right hand travelled down to his belt buckle and undid it before either of us could think. Then he broke away from me.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

A feeling that can only be described as pain, emotional and physical, hit me hard. I felt like I couldn't stand. I couldn't breathe. I was hurt. Badly. And I had to get out of there. I wouldn't cry. No way was I gonna let him see me cry over him. I have shed too many tears over Jess. And soon there will be more.

"I thought…I don't know I…We were kissing and you said…And I thought…" I was trying to explain myself, but I was hurt. And with hurt came anger. I don't owe him an explanation. I don't owe him anything. "You know what, Jess? I don't know what I thought. I'll just get out of your way!" And with that I spun around on my heel and all but ran out of there.

I sniffled and blinked rapidly desperately trying to hold back the tears that were already pouring down my face. Why had I come here? Did I really think something could happen with me and Jess? Did I really think we would actually be able to work something out? I did. That's how crazy I am. I actually thought Jess and I, the most dysfunctional couple in history, would be able to figure things out. Well tough.

I was digging in my pockets for my car keys as I heard footsteps behind me.

"Rory, wait!" I turned and saw Jess coming towards me. I didn't say anything just turned back to my car desperately fishing for my keys, but my hands were shaking so bad it wasn't easy. I felt a hand on my arm and wasn't able to resist as it forced me to turn around. I was face to face with Jess, but dropped my eyes so I was looking at the ground. "Rory, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you away." I raised my head and met his eyes. He sighed and his face filled with concern. "And I really, really didn't mean to make you cry."

In my shaken up state I had forgotten about my tears. And I angrily wiped them away from my face. "Yeah, well you did." I sighed. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have kissed you and I shouldn't have come."

Jess frowned. "What are you talking about? I wanted you to kiss me. I kissed you first, remember?"

"Yeah, well it couldn't possibly have meant anything to you!"

Now Jess was losing his patience. "How the hell would you know that?"

"You turned down sex, Jess! I was all over you and you asked me what I was doing! But hey I get it. Now I know what it's like to be turned down. You got your payback. Now could you please let me get in my car, so I can get out of here?" A batch of new tears were gathering in my eyes.

Jess' voice was once again calm. Trying to calm me down. Trying to understand me. "Is that what you think happened in there?" I just nodded and felt the first tears slip into my mouth. "That's not it, Ror. I just don't think we should be doing that…this soon. I mean what are we even doing? Are we trying again or did we make a mistake kissing in there? Should we just go to our separate corners and forget the ugliness ever happened? Or should we deal with it?" Needless to say, he's a much bigger person than I am.

We were silent. Very silent. I knew he was waiting for me to reply. Or say anything at all. I knew what I wanted to say. For once in my life I was sure. And that without making a list. Without thinking it over for three months. I just knew. But I didn't know if I could say it. I didn't want him to turn me down. Feel that pain. It would be too much. He has broken my heart before. I knew how much it hurt. Fuck rationality.

"I wanna deal with it." My voice was barely above a whisper. I didn't even know if he'd heard me.

But he nodded. "Good. Me too."

I took a deep breath. To hell with it. "I was happy you kissed me, Jess. I wasn't lying when I said I miss you, because I do. So much. And I have tried to get over you. God knows I've tried, but I just can't. You're always there in the back of my mind. When I pass a bookstore, when I read, when I'm in class discussing books, when Almost Famous was on TV I almost cried! I mean, God! Even when I eat ice cream in freakin' cones I think of you! I've tried, but I can't!" By now I was full on crying again. I am the poster child for an emotional wreck. I felt Jess' arms around me, hugging me, stroking my back trying to soothe me.

"I wanna be with you, Jess. I know there's the distance and the baggage and stuff to work out, but I think it will be worth it."

Jess pulled away to look me in the eyes. He was smiling. "What about the blond dick at Yale?"

Despite everything I had to giggle. "I broke up with him. I told you I'd taken care of everything." I leaned in and kissed him. Soft and sweet.

"So we're doing this?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Yeah, we're doing this." We hugged and stood like that for a while just enjoying each other.

"I hate to be a buzz kill, but I should be heading back. I have class tomorrow morning at eight."

Jess sighed and pulled away. "Well then…" He leaned in and gave me a breathtaking kiss.

"I never wanna leave now." I said accusingly.

"That was the idea."

I smiled at him. And I mean really smiled. I kissed his cheek.

"Call me." He nodded.

I got in my car and embarked on the drive home. But I knew it wouldn't be long before I was back here. I was smiling from ear to ear and almost bouncing in my seat.

Ten minutes later my cell started ringing and I smiled as I answered. "It was about time you called me. I'm getting really bored here. There's nothing to see on the road from Philadelphia…"

I knew there were obstacles to overcome. Old happenings and problems to deal with. Issues to be discussed. But right now I wasn't thinking of any of that. I knew it would work out in the end if we stayed strong. Fuck rationality. This was love.


	2. All Kinds of Time

A/N: After reading the reviews from what I intended to be a one shot and realising people were intrigued, I have decided to turn it into a running story. This is my first fan fiction, so who knows how it will turn out, but I'll give it a shot. I would like to thank the people who reviewed the story and also all who read it. I'm writing because I enjoy it, but to know that people out there are reading it and enjoying it as well is very, very cool.

I am changing the writing to present tense from this chapter and on, simply because it makes it easier. The story will be written in Rory's point of view.

For the people who want 'Rationality' to stay a one shot; ignore the rest of the chapters.

- - - -

All kinds of time

I roll over in bed after having angrily shut off my alarm clock. Having gotten to bed at four in the morning, six thirty is no time for me to wake up. Unfortunately for me, my schedule has 'creative writing' 8 am written on it. I groan and wallow in my own misery while struggling to untangle from the covers. I am half sitting up in bed when I am awake enough to remember why I had been up so late. I collapse back into my pillow letting a lazy, wide grin spread across my face.

Jess and I had been talking for hours, well after my return to New Haven. I had walked straight into my bedroom, phone still in hand, shut the door and lay down on the bed still chatting happily about anything and everything. Nothing substantial was discussed, none of us had dared to touch upon what we knew needed to be talked through. But there was no point in going down that road just yet and it had felt so good to talk to him again. The playful banter from three years ago was quickly rediscovered and the awkwardness one would expect simply wasn't there. It had been so nice just to be silly again. I have been too serious lately what with Logan screwing an entire wedding party and all. I breathe in deeply and exhale in a sigh. I have no qualms about calling him my ex. At the moment I am not sure whether I have a current boyfriend, but that is just one of the topics up for discussion between me and Jess. No hurry though, we have time. All kinds of time.

All kinds of time however, does not apply for me at the moment, so I get out of bed to get ready for the day.

- - - -

I scramble for my ringing cell phone with onehand, popping the last remains of my breakfast muffin in my mouth, and clutching a steaming cup of coffee in the other. It surfaces and I take deep breath to prepare me for the conversation to come.

"Yes, mommy?"

"I tried calling you for hours last night and all I got was a busy signal! Now either you had different people all calling at the very same times I tried calling you, or as I like to think, you were trying to call me back every time I tried calling you because you know, our minds are like in sync," I smile at her absurdness. "And our lines got crossed, or you were talking to the same person the whole time."

"Mhm." I confirm, but don't respond.

"But who would you be talking to for so long? Last time I checked you and Logan were over and it would be terribly '90's to talk on the phone with a guy for hours when you guys were practically living together."

"90's?"

"Oh, you know how when people started buying cell phones everybody was talking in them all the time even with the person walking right beside them?"

"Okay," I giggle quietly.

"So which is it?"

"I was on the phone having a very important conversation that doesn't concern or interest you." A little lie is all right, right?

"What are you talking about? I find everything you interesting."

"No you don't."

"Sure I do, it comes with the whole mommy territory…eh…etiquette…thingy." She struggles slightly finding her words, but sounds satisfied at the conclusion.

Desperately wanting to avoid the topic of Jess, I don't want her to know just yet, I try to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Why were you trying to call me? I mean if you were trying for that long it must have been something more significant than the latest shoe sale in Hartford." Sensing a protest in the making I add; "Not that that is not important."

"Obviously. Well, Luke came back last night after the trip with April. And they had visited Jess in Philadelphia, which I knew he was gonna do, but surprise, surprise guess who had also found her way to Philadelphia to see Jess?" When I don't respond she adds; "This time without telling me?"

"Ehm…me?"

"Right on, kid! And that has mommy wondering, especially when her daughter was out of reach the whole of last night, how that went?" Her voice is slightly curious and slightly accusing. I know she wants me to tell her, but I don't want to involve her in the thing with Jess at this point. I want to deal with it on own without her telling me what to do. I'm an adult now. The fact that she isn't exactly Jess' number one fan doesn't help plead her case.

"Jess sent me an invitation and I went."

"And?" She draws out the word for emphasis.

"And it was nice. He showed me around, I saw some paintings, listened to a poet, skimmed through his book again and we talked. It was good."

"You talked all night?"

"We talked." I say it in a tone to make her understand I don't wanna talk about this.

"Fine, fine be that way," she says taking my not so subtle hint.

"I have to go now, I've got class in like three minutes."

"Okay. Just be careful, sweets."

"Talk to you later, mom." I hang up. Sighing heavily I enter the class room. I don't know why, but for some reason her last remark had really irked me.

- - - -

The newsroom is buzzing with activity as deadline approaches and I am deeply engrossed proofreading the last articles. News fascinate me and even though I have a lot on my mind that has kept me distracted throughout the day, I am really paying attention at the moment. As I'm finishing Logan's article I make a note to myself how good it really is. Secretly I've always wondered how he can party, goof around, sit down to write for an hour and still hand in articles that would have any aspiring journalist envious. This aspiring journalist included. I put my red pen down, no edits needed. In the print pile it goes.

"Hey, Peter! I need that article ASAP!" I shout to our newbie who still hasn't quite adjusted to the quick pace. He's too thorough. He's like I was when I first started out. Everything has to be perfect. His day will come when he realizes there's no need to ponder every single detail.

"Fifteen more minutes!" His voice is strained as the pressure is getting to him.

"Deadline's in eight minutes, by fifteen minutes I've already left and so has Mari who's taking it to print!"

"I'll try!" I smile as he's voice cracks at the last syllable. I'm so glad that isn't me anymore, I'm calmer now than before. If there is one thing the relationship with Logan taught me, it is that I don't need to fret.

"Don't worry, Pete, if you don't make it I'll make sure it makes the cut next week, okay?" He doesn't answer me and I move on to the last article submitted. It is Paris', so I know I had nothing to worry about, no editing needed. I have already proofread it five times and by now, my suggested changes should have been made. And they have been. In the print pile it goes. Paris and I do this dance every week. She writes an article that is always too subjective and way over the top, I proofread it once, twice, however many times it needs until she makes the edits needed. She's stubborn, but so am I and she knows if she doesn't edit, the article isn't printed. I look over at the clock. "Four minutes, Pete!" I hear an explosive sigh in response and can't help but giggle. As I take my phone out I discover I'd gotten a text message. The little screen informed me it was from Jess.

My lips part in a smile and my whole body feels funny as I open it. I roll my eyes at myself for how silly I'm being, but at the same time, I couldn't care less.

_4:15 and I still haven't heard from you. Ditching me already?_

I'm still smiling as I text him back.

_No, not ditching you. Just preoccupied with something more important._

"Okay, Pete, time's up!" I yell across the newsroom.

"Fine, I'm handing it in now," he walks over to me and hands me the article. He stands next to me as I start going over it. As I'm through the first paragraph my phone buzzes. I smile sheepishly at Pete and reach for my phone.

_Huh._

I can't help but laugh earning me a curious stare from Pete that I wave off.

"Okay, it's going to print." I put it in the pile and hand it over to Mari. I pack up my stuff and walk out of the newsroom taking my phone out and dial Jess' number. It rings twice.

"Am I next on your list?" he asks as a greeting and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"I squeezed you in before dinner."

"Don't I feel special."

I laugh. "I was actually gonna call you at lunch, but I had to go into the Yale Daily News to check some things. It was deadline day today."

"That's how it is when you're dating the boss." I let the dating comment slide for the moment.

"That's right. I'm terribly busy and important."

He chuckles as a response.

"So, Ror, I was thinking," he says.

"Yes?"

"I'd like to talk to you again, preferably face to face. So I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner?"

My heart skips a beat and I am smiling so wide I can barely get my answer out.

"Of course, I would love that."

"Okay, tomorrow is Friday, how 'bout I come to New Haven and take you out. Around eight o'clock. Sound good?"

"Sounds great."

"Cool. Wear something hot."

I laugh. "Subtle."

"I would think you of all people would know I ain't subtle."

"That's true. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you, Ror," he says.

"Bye, Jess." I hang up.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Drop me a line. I'll read and reply.


	3. Promise

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

From next chapter on I will change the main title of the story back to "Rationality", just so you know and don't get confused as the title pops up when it is updated.

As a side note; people in this story will be out of character at one point or another, maybe throughout the whole story even. That is just because that's the way I want them. If I was happy with the way the characters were on the show, there would be no point in me writing this. I get how this will be annoying to people, but that's just the way it is.

- - - -

PROMISE

"How about I interview the three main people involved, get their opinions? Hopefully they will match what I want otherwise I'll edit them."

I continue brushing my hair as Paris continues her rant.

"Do you think I should interview them, or should I just write it as an editorial piece?"

I sigh and give up my futile attempt at simply ignoring her. I turn from the mirror to talk to her. "I think you should interview them, it is important for a journalist to remain objective," I draw out the word for emphasis. "And to see the story from different sides." I turn back to the mirror. "And you don't have to worry about the editorial. I write those, remember?" I can't help it, she's annoying the hell out of me.

"Oh, I remember." Her hands go to her hips.

"Besides, Paris," I apply eyeliner. "Deadline is a week away, there's no hurry. You'll write a great article whatever you do." I throw her a bone to lighten her mood.

"Of course I will."

She examines me as I apply the rest of my make up. "So when's your date picking you up."

I smile and look at my watch. "Thirty minutes, if he's on time, which I doubt he will be."

"Yeah, guys are always late."

"This one usually is anyways." Lip gloss.

"How do you know? I thought this was your first date since Logan." Paris wears an expression caught between confused, intrigued and amused. Something only she can pull off.

"It is, but I dated him in high school." I decide against the lip gloss and wipe it off.

"Really? What's his name?"

"Jess."

"Jess?" She frowns. "Did I meet him? I seem to remember a Jess."

"You did meet him. Remember when I was home alone wanting to do laundry and you talked me into studying with you?" She nods. "Jess was the guy who brought all the food."

"The Kerouac fanatic?" I nod.

The room is filled with the opening notes of "Smells like Teen Spirit" as my phone starts ringing. I all but run to get it hoping it's Jess earning me a dramatic eye roll from Paris as she leaves the room.

"Hello?"

"Hey, kid."

"Hey, mom." I feel a bit disappointed.

"So I was shopping today and I saw this dress that I just adored! And it was on sale, right? So I went to get it, but then this woman, my exact size, grabs the last one in that size."

"That skank!"

"Tell me about it. So I go 'excuse me I saw that dress before you did' and she goes…" I take a quick glance at my watch. Ten minutes.

"Did you get the dress?" I cut her off mid rant.

"Yeah I did, but don't you want to hear the dramatic tale of how I ended up getting it?" I can hear her pout and her voice has a whiny tone.

"Of course I do mom," I trap the phone between my cheek and shoulder to free both my hands in order to put on my shoes. "It's just that I'm going out tonight and I'm leaving in about five minutes, so I'm gonna have to hear it later."

"You're going out? Is it a date?" The whine is gone and is replaced by girly giddiness.

"No it's with a couple of friends." I'm surprised at hearing myself say those words. I bite my lip. If there is one thing that makes me feel like shit, it's lying to my mom. It's not a habit of mine and definitely not something I'd like to get used to.

"Sounds like fun, sweets. And it's good that you're getting over Logan."

"Yeah." I button the last button on my blouse and comb through my hair with my fingers. "I'll call you tomorrow to get the details of your shopping adventure."

"Deal. And have fun tonight!"

"I will." I smile in spite of myself. We say our goodbyes and hang up.

- - - -

I smile at Jess and am rewarded by a smirk from where he's standing by the door.

I walk up to him. "Hi."

"Hi." He leans in and kisses me. The kiss is slow and he draws it out and rests a hand on my cheek.

We break apart and I grab his hands and intertwine our fingers. He backs up slightly to check out what I'm wearing. He smirks and nods approvingly and I giggle.

"You didn't get anything short, but it's tight." I gesture at my jeans and top.

He grins and leans in for a second kiss. "You ready?"

I nod.

- - - -

"So what have you been up to?" I take a sip of red wine.

Jess shrugs. "Nothin' much, I'm editing a book at the moment that we're thinking of publishing. It's really good."

"Such high praise from Jess Mariano, the books gotta be amazing."

He smirks. "Oh yeah, how so?"

"You're a book snob."

"I'm not a book snob."

"Yes you are, you're extremely picky."

He just nods giving in.

A comfortable silence descends on us as we concentrate on the last remains of our dinner. I sneak glances at him from time to time noticing how different he looks. He's done a lot of growing up since we were together three years ago. He seems calmer, like he has been through the sausage machine of life and come out the other side still in one piece, still standing. There is this strange look in his eyes that weren't there before. His eyes aren't cold and no longer hold that indifferent expression they once did. now when he smiles his eyes actually follow suit. He seems happy.

I smile to myself, but it doesn't go unnoticed by him. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing, just…stuff." He smirks, but doesn't comment. And when he doesn't I change the subject.

"Are you going back to Philadelphia tonight?"

"Yeah, I have to I gotta work tomorrow."

"On a Saturday? That sucks."

"I don't normally work Saturdays, I just have some work to catch up on that I didn't get done with this week." He finishes his glass of wine. "What are you up to tomorrow? I was thinking maybe I'd come back down here to see you."

I smile at him. "That's very sweet, but I was planning on going to Stars Hollow and stay overnight."

"Okay."

"It's just that I've been kind of short with mom lately, so I'm gonna try to smooth things over." I offer as the explanation he didn't ask for.

He frowns. "You've been avoiding your mom?" I nod. "Why?"

I know this is a difficult subject with him. He and mom never got along and I know she wouldn't be over excited if she knew I was out with Jess tonight, or any other night for that matter. "It's just that I haven't told her…I didn't know how to tell her about…" He cuts me off.

"About me." It's a statement, not a question and his tone is strangely neutral while his expression is blank.

I bite my lip. "I don't want you to be upset."

He sighs heavily and sits back in his chair. "I'm not upset."

"You look upset."

"I'm not upset," he insists, but then admits in what I guess is a response to my less than convinced expression. "I guess I'm just sick of this being an issue."

"It's not an issue." He raises his eyebrows at that. "It's not, Jess. I just don't want to tell my mom and have a fight with her and…" Again he cuts me off.

"That would end in a fight? Us seeing each other is that horrible to Lorelai that she would actually start a fight with you over it?" His voice is not as calm anymore.

"I don't know, but that is a definite possibility."

He's about to say something, but this time I cut him off. "She's just worried, okay? She doesn't know you, she only knows how it turned out last time." He stares at me for what seems like forever before nodding.

"Yeah I don't have the best track record, do I?"

"No you don't." There's no point in denying it. "Jess, I really don't want to fight with you over this too."

He rests his hand on top of mine. "I don't want to turn this into a fight either."

"Good." I smile slightly and he returns it.

"Yeah, good." He glances over his shoulder and spots the waiter then he looks back at me. "Wanna get out of here?"

I nod.

- - - -

We ended up walking around New Haven without a particular plan in mind. And it was nice. Really nice. After the dinner had threatened to end in a huge blow out, it was a welcome tingly feeling when Jess put his arm around my back as we walked around. The subject seemed to have momentarily slipped his mind, though I'm sure it will be brought up again.

- - - -

At 1:30 am we were standing outside the door of my apartment.

"I had a great time tonight," I tell him.

"Yeah, me too."

Coming closer he takes my hands in his and intertwine our fingers. "Will I see you again soon?"

"Definitely. I just won't know how to stay away."

He chuckles and kisses my cheek. "I'm serious, I won't get to see you again this weekend, so I'm wondering." He pecks my lips.

"Definitely next weekend, but I'm busy with school during the week, I don't think I can drive to Philadelphia then."

"Okay."

I lean in and kiss him while wrapping my arms around his neck. I feel his arms go around my waist and tug me closer. I feel Jess lick the front of my teeth urging me to open up and I am happy to oblige.

We break the kiss and Jess hugs me.

"Do me a favour?" He breathes in my ear.

"Mhm." I hum into the crook of his neck. He most likely feels my answer as opposed to hearing it.

"Tell her."

My eyes open and I pull back to look at him. There are no walls in his eyes covering his feelings anymore. I can read him now. He wants me to prove to him I'm serious about this. And telling my mom would do just that.

"Okay." I say.

At that point I would have promised him anything.

- - - -

A/N: Do like it? Hate it? Review, otherwise I won't know.


	4. Talk or no Talk

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

TALK OR NO TALK

The bell jingles as I enter Luke's and the familiar smell of the diner surrounds me. Luke looks up from taking an order to greet me.

"Hey, Rory how are you?"

I smile at him "I'm good. You?"

He is about to answer when: "Rory!" My mom swivels around on the stool she was sitting on and runs towards me. I laugh as she envelopes me in a fierce hug which I happily return. "I didn't know you were coming this weekend."

"Well I just had to hear about that shopping adventure of yours."

"It is the sort of story that should be told face to face, isn't it?"

"Absolutely. The phone just wouldn't do it justice."

We release each other from our grasp and sit down at the counter where a steaming cup of fresh coffee is already set out for me. I take a sip and gesture towards Luke as a thank you.

"So to what do I owe the pleasure of having my one and only offspring visiting without notice?"

"I told you I just wanted to see you; it's been a few weeks now."

"Indeed it has. So do I get you all day?"

"Yes you do and I wondered if I could stay here 'till tomorrow too."

"Of course! We could do a movie night!" She is practically bouncing in her seat and her excitement is infectious making me momentarily forget the serious conversation I'm supposed to have with her.

Mom looks around the diner. "Luke!" She gestures for him to come over.

"Yes?"

"Could you make yourself scarce tonight? Rory and I are having a movie night."

"Mom!" I scold, then turn to Luke. "You can stay; you don't have to make yourself scarce just because we're having a movie night."

"Oh, yes I do," he snorts. "There is no way I am watching another girlie movie while you guys stuff your faces with every unhealthy snack known to man."

I giggle. "Okay then. Girls night it is."

"Yay!" Mom chimes in.

- - - -

I am less than thrilled about the prospect of a major argument with mom. She and I are very close and those months we spent fighting last year left no desire of a repeat. Our relationship was seriously put to the test then and I am sometimes amazed it was mended as quickly as it was. After all that, we were back to normal within a couple of weeks. Some changes are there, but they are welcome changes. She treats me more like an adult now.

It suddenly hits me that I have no idea how she will react. I mean, I only assume it will end in a fight. I have no similar prior occasions to compare with, I'm only going on a hunch here. Maybe I should give her more credit. She's always been supportive of me. Correction. She's always been supportive of me when I've done things that weren't bad for me. And there lies the core issue here. If she thinks Jess has grown up, sees that I'm happy and thinks he's good for me, she'll be thrilled. If she thinks Jess is bad for me, this will end in a fight. A fight I am not willing to give in, a fight I will win because I want to be with Jess. Even if I have to spend years proving to her that he is what makes me happy.

"How about a real testosterone trip?" Mom breaks me out of me trance and holds up a stack of DVD covers. "'Spy Game' via 'Se7en' ending in a climax of obscene violence in 'Fight Club'?"

I giggle. "Brad Pitt anyone?"

Mom shrugs. "It's just a phase. And besides, now we can tell Luke what we watched in the morning proving to him that I do not only watch girlie movies."

"Leaving Brad Pitt out of the conversation, of course."

"Of course."

"Okay, let's get them."

We walk up to the cash register. Kirk puts our rentals in a bag and hands it to mom.

"Oh and Kirk, could I get the receipt please?" She turns to me. "Luke'll want to see proof."

- - - -

"So, all set."

Mom pops the first disc in the DVD player and sits down next to me on the couch. The coffee table in front of us is covered in all kinds of junk food. Chinese food containers, a pizza box, candy wraps, ice cream tubs, all in a happy union of potential heart disease. This is exactly what a movie night should be. I settle in close to mom and watch the movie.

- - - -

It's late when the credits of 'Fight Club' roll down the screen. Most of the food is gone leaving a mass of empty containers and crap that Luke will end up cleaning in the morning. I rub my eyes and we both groan as we drag ourselves off the couch and into a standing position. We remain standing for a heroic three seconds before collapsing back onto the couch.

"Five more minutes." Mom whispers next to me.

"Mhm." My response just as quiet.

I open my eyes after a few minutes have past and turn my head to look at her. She senses this and opens hers as well raising a questioning eyebrow at me.

"Mom, can we talk for a second?" My voice is still soft and barely audible, but she hears me and nods.

"About what sweets?"

I breathe in and am about to speak when I decide against it.

"Rory, what's up?" She asks again.

I shake my head. "Nothing."

She raises her eyebrows again. "Are you sure?"

I nod.

"You know you can always talk to me."

I nod again. "Yeah, it's just not a big deal."

She doesn't look convinced.

"Really, it's nothing."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." She relents.

"Yeah, it was just this fight I had with Paris, no biggie." I lie. It's the second time in 36 hours that I have lied to my mother.

She nods. Then she gets up and offers a hand to me pulling me up as well.

"Goodnight, kid."

"Goodnight, mom." I kiss her cheek. "Love you."

I walk towards my old room.

"Sleep good." Mom calls after me and I smile in return.

I shut the door behind me and sink down on the bed. I feel like shit.

- - - -

Two hours later I'm still not asleep. I've tossed and turned a million times over and nothing seems to be relaxing. It's quiet and has been since I went to bed. The only sounds were the door when Luke came home. Now it's all quiet and it is driving me insane.

So is my conscience. Which I suspect plays a big part in me not being able to sleep.

I reach over to my nightstand and grab my cell phone. I text Jess.

_Are you awake?_

Five minutes later there's still no answer.

"I guess not," I whisper.

Then my phone buzzes.

_I am now._

I smile.

_Can I call you?_

My phone buzzes again.

_You better._

I giggle and dial the familiar numbers.

"What are you doing up?" His voice is heavy with sleep.

"Can't sleep." My voice is soft and barely above a whisper. I don't want anyone but him to hear me.

"Why?"

"I did something stupid. Or rather I was stupid because I didn't do something."

"Mhm." I can hear him yawn on the other end.

"Sorry I woke you up."

"S' okay." There's a pause before he remembers. "What was it you didn't do?"

I sigh. If there is one person I don't want to fight with besides mom, it's Jess. This thing with us is so new and so fragile. I really don't want to ruin it.

"I haven't told her yet." I finally admit.

"Huh."

"Come on, Jess give me more than that."

"I figured you wouldn't until the last minute."

"What do you mean?"

"You're there 'till tomorrow right?" Another yawn.

"Yeah."

"So I know you. You hate confrontation, especially with your mom, so I figured you would put it off until you absolutely had to."

"I'm not gonna yell it at her as I pull away from the curb." I state somewhat offended.

He chuckles. "Didn't say that. But I wasn't expecting you to tell her today either." There's a pause. I hear him take a breath. "You're gonna do it tomorrow though, right?"

"That's the plan," my voice goes even softer and I'm surprised he even heard me. "I hate fighting with her."

"I know you do." His voice matches mine. "It's gonna be okay." His voice is comforting. "Maybe she'll be okay with it. And there won't be a fight."

"Maybe there will be."

"It's gonna be okay." He repeats his earlier statement and I don't know for who's benefit. "Don't worry about it, Ror."

"Okay." And it is okay.

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Jess."

"Night, babe."

I grin and settle into my bed in order to sleep.

- - - -

Sleep doesn't come easy tonight. Too many thoughts are making it impossible.

I am nervous as hell about tomorrow.

I have lied to my mom, not over the phone, but straight to her face.

I have also let Jess down. I promised him I would tell her. And I can see why that would mean something to him. Even if my mom turns out to hate him like before. To him it's not about my mom. To him it's about us. It's about me being sure. It's about us being something definite, something he can count on and not have me suddenly pull away from him. It's the reassurance he probably always needed, but I didn't give him because he wasn't able to tell me.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	5. Nostalgia

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed. It cheered me up so much I forgot I had just done a crappy job on my biology exam.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

NOSTALGIA

"Morning, kid."

I grunt in reply and sink down at the kitchen table.

"Wow, you look…like crap." Leave it to mom to cheer me up.

"Thanks." My voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Aww, you didn't get any sleep?"

I yawn. "Not really."

"Why?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"That's what fifty pounds of sugar will do to you." Luke says looking up briefly from his task of making breakfast.

I don't respond. Instead I stagger over to get myself a cup of coffee. Sitting back down, I take a huge gulp of it and after the fact feel a little more awake.

"Is that pancakes, Luke?"

"Yeah." He replies distractedly.

"I pulled him out of the breakfast shift at the diner," mom explains.

"Good call."

Luke snorts.

- - - -

I eat the last piece of my pancakes.

"Thanks for breakfast, Luke."

"Your welcome." He grabs our plates and takes them to the sink. "But now I really have to get to the diner."

He leaves me and mom to ourselves.

"So, Rory, when do you have to get back to Yale?"

"I should get out of here by four. I have some studying to do."

"Okay, so what do you wanna do till then?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, we should go visit Sookie!"

"Oh, I'd love that! I haven't seen the kids in forever."

"And she'll cook us an amazing lunch and it will be great!"

I laugh.

- - - -

"You have to come visit again soon." Mom tells me as she hugs me goodbye. I still haven't told her about Jess as we ended up spending the entire day at Sookie's. It is now six o'clock and I have to get back.

"I will."

"Promise?"

I giggle. "I promise. You're so dramatic."

"Runs in the family."

I get in my car and wave as I pull away from the curb. The idea of yelling it out the window actually seems pretty appealing at the moment.

- - - -

"Paris, what are you doing for dinner?"

I am looking through our kitchen cupboards trying to find something simple. Something so utterly obviously simple to make, even I could attempt it without burning the house down.

"Doyle and I are going out." She answers distractedly from where she is sitting studying.

"Okay." I rummage through every item. Finding nothing I move over to the fridge. I smell a container of left over Chinese. "Jesus!" I throw it out.

I grab my cell phone. "Looks like I'm ordering in again."

- - - -

My phone starts ringing. For the last hour and a half I've been alone in the apartment studying. And it has been quiet. The sudden noisy interruption makes me jump. Reaching over the empty pizza box I resurface my phone from under a stack of paper.

"Hello?" I highlight another passage.

"How you doing, Ace?"

My head snaps up at his voice.

"Logan?"

"The one and only."

I sigh. "What are you doing calling me?"

"Whoa, calm down there, I was just…you know…just…"

"Logan, are you drunk?"

"What? No."

"You can't even talk and I can hear the party going on in the background."

"Well…"

"Why did you call me?"

"Hey do you wanna come over? Everybody's here it would be just like old times. What do you say, Ace?"

"I don't think so, Logan." I hear a bottle being tipped and Logan swallowing. "Just stop calling me." I hang up.

Shortly after my phone rings again. Caller ID says 'Logan'. I don't answer.

The phone rings again. I chuckle. For all his faults, he was always persistent.

- - - -

"Okay, class listen up!" Professor Anderson interrupts our discussion. "Read the rest of the book for next time, okay. Analyze it. Why did the writer write what he did? What is he trying to say? And remember, this is exam stuff."

I pack up my things and head for the exit. The only thing keeping me awake is the steaming cup of coffee I know is waiting for me at the cart outside.

"One coffee, please. Biggest cup you've got." I dig into my pocket for change and pay the vendor as he hands me my cup.

"I'll get it." Logan hands the vendor a five dollar bill. The vendor looks back and forth between me and Logan a bit confused as to what's going on.

"Logan…"

"Just accept the damn coffee, Ace." I gesture for the vendor for my change and he hands it back to me.

"Keep it." Logan says as the vendor hands him his change.

"Thanks, man."

"Your welcome." He turns to me. "So Ace, could we talk for a second?"

"I've got class in ten minutes."

"I'll walk you there, we'll walk and talk." Seeing my hesitation he adds; "Please?"

I laugh at his ridiculous facial expression. "Sure, we'll walk and talk."

He grins. "Good."

We start walking. I am waiting for him to say something, but he doesn't. I glance over at him to try to urge him on, but he doesn't catch my hint.

"So?"

He looks at me.

"You got me walkin', so start talkin'."

"Right…eh…" He stutters a bit. He seems nervous. Then he rubs his hand over his eyes and finally; he looks at me. "I wanted to apologize for last night."

I nod.

"I was pretty hammered, I don't really remember much, but I know I called you. And in my drunken state I might have said something stupid."

"You didn't. You just invited me over there, nothing worse than that."

"Okay. Good." He seems relived.

We continue walking in silence. It's not awkward at all. Not uncomfortable. It's strangely normal. After all we were together for over a year.

We stop outside the class room.

He turns to me. "It was nice seeing you."

I smile. "It was nice seeing you too."

He chuckles. "Really? I'm surprised you didn't punch me. Or at least launch into one of your signature rants."

"Nah, not necessary." I smile. "I did that when we broke up."

"Rant, yes, but you didn't punch me."

"In my mind, I did."

He laughs.

Then my World lit professor passes us and into the class room followed by my class mates.

"I guess I'll see you around, Ace."

"Guess so. Thanks for the coffee."

He nods.

I look after him as he walks down the hall.

Logan may not have been everything I wanted him to be, but I wouldn't have traded my time with him for anything. We had a lot of fun. He showed me how to have fun, even though we ended up taking it too far. I'm not too proud of myself for stealing a boat or dropping out of Yale, but at the same time I have learned something from it. Logan is largely responsible for my growing up and that is a good thing.

- - - -

A/N: This was one of those boring, fill-in chapters. I promise the next one will be better. I just wanted to deal with Logan, it seemed sort of easy to just say 'yeah, they broke up,' and never hear from him again when they attend the same school plus the Yale Daily News.


	6. Familiar

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

There is a reason I haven't had Rory tell Lorelai yet. I have a story line planned out and bulks of different chapters written. Just be patient, she will find out.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

FAMILIAR

Lunch. Finally. Today had so far been practically unbearable. I had two assignments due today, which do to my visit to Stars Hollow this weekend, I was up until 3:30 am to complete. I've had Paris nagging at me about her article and a fight with one of my professors due to an, in my opinion, unjust grade. And to top it off, making this the single worst morning I have had in a long time, our coffee machine broke down. As I was running very late I didn't have time to buy some on campus either. So now I am severely caffeine deprived. And hungry. And that is a lethal Gilmore combination.

I walk out of the building heading straight for the coffee cart when I see someone awfully familiar sitting on one of the benches. Black converse, worn jeans, a mop of black hair…

"Jess!" I shriek and run towards him.

He smiles and stands up setting the two coffee cups he had in his hands down on the ground. I launch myself into his arms and he laughs as he barely retains his footing from the impact.

"It's so good to see you." I whisper.

"It's good to see you too."

"I'm in such a shitty mood today."

"You're in a shitty mood?"

"Uh, you have no idea." I sigh and hug him tighter. "Shitty day equals shitty mood."

He pulls out of the hug to kiss me. "Well, I'll just have to cheer you up then."

"You already have." I smile and he kisses me again.

We break apart and he hands me one of the coffee cups. I accept gratefully and take a large gulp of it. Jess grabs my hand and we start walking in no particular direction.

"Where are we going?"

He shrugs.

"I don't know. You tell me."

"How about you buy me lunch?" I bat my eyes at him.

"Sure, where?"

I point in direction of a coffee shop.

"Do you ever go anywhere that has nothing to do with coffee?" He asks amused.

"Sometimes."

He rolls his eyes.

"They have sandwiches too, you know." I add.

"Oh, joy."

- - - -

"Here you go." He hands me my sandwich and sits down opposite me at the table. This is the first thing I have eaten all day and I am half expecting Jess to comment on my attack on the food, but he doesn't.

"How long is your lunch break?"

"Thirty minutes."

He narrows his eyes at me. "So technically your lunch break was over five minutes ago."

"Technically."

"I'm a bad influence on you, Gilmore, making you skip school." He smirks.

I giggle. "Right now, I don't care."

"Okay," he says. "So since you're not going to class today, what do you wanna do?"

I take a bite. "There's a great bookstore I wanna show you. I remember when I first came to Yale and found it and all I could think of was how much you would have loved it. It has everything; first editions, used books, new books; everything. Anyways I'd really love to show it to you."

He smirks. "I'm hooked."

I smile.

"Good."

We eat our lunch in silence, both of us concentrating on our food. That's another thin I love about Jess, I note to myself, the fact that we don't have to talk. We can just sit together, not say a word and it's never weird or awkward.

"Shall we?" He asks.

"We shall."

Jess pays the cashier.

"See you, Rory!" She says to me.

"Yeah, thanks Diane."

Jess and I walk outside.

"First name basis?" Jess asks incredulous.

"When I came here the first thing I did was go on a quest for the best cup of coffee. I went to all the places that serve coffee in New Haven and Diane's is the one who most resembles Luke's. So I've been coming there basically everyday for two years, so yes, first name basis."

He doesn't respond.

I turn to him. "I know I'm weird, by the way."

He chuckles and drapes an arm around my shoulders.

- - - -

I'm reading the back of a book jacket completely engrossed in what is written. _Lauren, who changes her course subject every time she changes her sleeping partner, is the centre of a curious…_

"Hey."

I jump as Jess is suddenly standing right in front of me.

"Jess, you scared me half to death!"

"Sorry." He smirks.

"Yeah, you look it."

"What have you got there?"

I hold the book out to him.

"'The Rules of Attraction' by Brett Easton Ellis. You buying this?" He asks.

I nod. "Yup, it's supposed to be really good."

"Yeah, it's not."

"It's not?" Jess shakes his head and makes a face. "But he wrote 'American Psycho', he's a genius."

"He is, just not that one." Sensing I need more convincing he says; "It's full of college clichés gone wild. You won't like it. Trust me on this."

I take the book back from him.

"But in books we don't always have the same taste. I mean you still hate 'The Fountainhead'."

"Ah, but that's because…"

"Ayn Rand is a political nut, I know, I haven't forgotten. I'm just using it to illustrate my point. You don't like Ayn Rand, I don't like Hemingway." I conclude triumphantly having proved my point.

Jess smirks and shakes his head.

"This conversation is so old."

I giggle. "But if you would just admit she's an amazing writer we would no longer be having it."

"Never."

"Stubborn."

I put 'The Rules of Attraction' back on the shelf.

"Fine, show me another book. I wanna buy something and you just turned me off to that one."

He shows me a different shelf.

I end up with a copy of 'Naked Lunch' by William Burroughs and 'Ham on Rye' by Charles Buckowski.

- - - -

"So why are you in a shitty mood today?" Jess asks me.

"Was," I correct him. "Past tense." My arm is snug around his waist and I use it to tug him even closer.

He drops a kiss on temple and tightens his grip of my shoulders in response. "Why _were _you in a shitty mood today?"

"I'm just stressed. Tests and the Daily News, it's just a lot to handle." I sigh. "And Paris." I add as an after thought. "She's always a lot to handle."

"You're her editor, now right?"

"Yup."

"How is she handling that?"

"She's all right, I was expecting a lot worse. It's just that she's such a perfectionist it gets a bit too much sometimes."

"Well ain't that the cat calling the kettle black?"

I nearly laugh out loud at hearing Jess using an expression like that, but get caught up in what the hell he meant by it.

"What do mean?"

"Rory, come on! You're not a perfectionist? Excuse me I've seen you study."

"Okay, fine I am, but I will have you know I've become much more lax over the years."

"Really?"

I nod.

"Okay," he says as if not quite believing me. "So how many times to you check your essay before handing it in? And I mean after it is completed and edited."

"Three." I state proudly. "See? It used to be five."

He rolls his eyes.

"But Paris is so much worse than I am. She's always been and it becomes more apparent every second I spend with her. One of these days I'll snap and it'll be her fault. I'll tell the jury that and they will all see I can't be held responsible for my actions."

"Just make sure the jury is made up of people who knew her and you'll be home free." Jess says.

I laugh, but then become serious again.

"I swear if she shows me one more draft of her article before deadline, I'm gonna throw some barbeque sauce on it and make her eat it."

Jess laughs out loud and kisses me cheek.

- - - -

Later that evening we are lying on the couch in my apartment. I managed to chase Paris and Doyle out for the evening, so we could have the place to ourselves. The last minutes of 'Almost Famous' are playing on the screen, but I'm not paying attention. I'm laying half way on top of Jess, sprawled out on his chest and his hand is playing lazily with my hair. I can't remember the last time I felt so comfortable. I snuggle in a little more and he drapes his other arm around my waist. With my eyes closed I don't pay attention to the world. I only pay attention to what I'm feeling right now. Nothing else matters. In this moment my mind is blank. And as I feel his lips on my forehead in a tender kiss, I drift asleep. And for the first time this week I don't think about the fact that I still haven't told my mom about us.

- - - -

A/N: A little fluff for you there, folks. Please review, it really does make my day.


	7. Unreasonable

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

**Spuffied**, I hope your mock GCSE's atms went all right. I've just had exams myself so I feel your pain.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

UNREASONABLE

I wake up with a start as the apartment door slams shut. I open my eyes and discover I am still lying in on Jess' chest. So it must have been Paris who made that discreet exit. I snuggle back against Jess and relax listening to his even breathing. Even though my arm is asleep, my hip is oddly twisted and Jess' chest isn't the softest pillow in the world, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

After a while I feel him move to adjust our position.

I look up at him. "Morning."

"Morning." He gives me a lazy kiss.

I take his wrist and adjust his watch to see what time it is.

"What time is it?" He asks rubbing his eyes with his other hand.

"Nine thirty."

"Do you have class today?"

"Nope, my only class today got cancelled. I didn't tell you Friday 'cause I was planning on going up to Philadelphia today and surprise you, but you ruined it by showing up yesterday." I smile playfully at him.

"Cute."

I giggle and lean in to kiss him.

"Breakfast?" He asks.

"Good luck trying to find something."

"We'll see."

He gets up and saunters over to the kitchen.

- - - -

"Okay, I give up." Jess says and I laugh at him as he sets the box of cereal on the table in defeat.

"Told you there was no food here."

He just smirks. "You know, that's not something to be proud of."

I make a face at him and start eating.

We eat in a comfortable silence and I am free to look at him. His hair is a wild mess from the night spent on the couch and he keeps having to shove his bangs away from in front of his eyes. His eyes are the same as they have always been, except now they are alive. Though he's changed these last three years there is still so much left of my high school boyfriend.

I roll my eyes at myself for the utter fluff filling my brain at the moment.

Having Jess here really has brightened my mood, which had become increasingly sombre since my visit to Stars Hollow over the weekend. I must admit I am somewhat surprised at myself for not having told my mom. We usually tell each other everything and she has always been the person I have gone to when in need of advice or support. But at the same time, that's just it. Over the years I have counted on her support, and except for my disastrous exit from Yale, I have always gotten it. One hundred percent. This time though, this time I can't count on her support. In fact I am fairly certain she will freak out and list every reason why me and Jess is a bad idea. This is perhaps the first situation in my life where I will be completely on my own against her. And that scares me.

On the other hand Jess deserves better.

I set my coffee cup back on the table and take a deep breath. I guess now is as good a time as any. "Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?" He looks up at me then furrows his brow at my expression. "What's wrong?"

I know I have to tell him. I can't lie to him too. "I didn't tell her."

He raises his eyebrows.

"Mom, I didn't tell her."

He sighs and is about to say something, but I stop him.

"I was about to, I meant to, but then we ended up spending the entire Sunday at Sookie's and like I said I wasn't gonna yell it at her from the car. And I know that this is important to you and I will tell her the next time I see her. And I was about to tell her Sunday, but things just happened." I rant.

He is silent. His arms are crossed in front of his chest and he's staring at me. He's not happy.

"Really, I was." I reach over the table to touch his elbow, but he pulls away and stands up.

I stand up and follow him into the living room. "Jess, I…"

"Do you really want this?" His question hits me full force and I am stunned.

"What?"

"Us. Do you really want this?"

"Of course I do!"

His voice is no longer calm and I can see this is headed straight for a fight. "You came after me in Philadelphia. Yes I kissed you first, but you were the one who decided that this was gonna become something. You said to me that you still had feelings for me…" I cut him off mid rant.

"I do have feelings for you!"

He carries on like he didn't hear me. "And we've been talking on the phone, we went out last Friday and things seemed good, right?"

"Yes." I'm getting confused as to where he's taking this.

"We were going somewhere. At least that's the impression I got."

"We are going somewhere!" I stress the present tense in an unsuccessful attempt at calming him down.

"This is not just about you, you know!" He says as if I need to be reminded. "You keeping this a secret…you tell your mom everything and you can't tell her about this. How is that supposed to make me feel, huh?" He pauses for a second, but doesn't let me answer as he continues. "You're a grown up, Rory! You have to stand up for yourself once in a while! Grow a backbone!"

My patience with him comes to an abrupt end.

"Hey! I want to tell her and I am going to. I just don't know how to say 'hey remember Jess, the guy I was madly in love with who ended up leaving me without notice and breaking my heart? Oh, wait of course you do, mom, you were the one who told me he was gone! Yeah, well we're together now! Are you happy for me?'"

He bites back. "Is this how it's gonna be, Rory? Every time we have a fight you're gonna bring up the past and throw it in my face?"

"No, not every time! But this time, yes, because it happens to be fairly relevant to this fight!" I all but scream at him. "Jess, I've told you a millions times already, I was gonna tell her, but things kept getting in the way! And I admit I am not looking forward to it, but I will tell her! Quite frankly, if you can't see that this is hard for me then…" I trail off.

"Then what?"

His question is poignant. He knows I won't answer. He knows. It's just his way of getting me to shut up.

And I do. Because even I don't know the end to that sentence.

He looks me straight in the eyes. It makes me feel like he can see right through me. Normally I like that feeling. Now I hate it.

For a moment he is calm again. "Why can't you tell your mom?"

"I was going to, but…"

Jess cuts me off. "Bull."

I stop mid sentence. I don't know what to say, but I have a feeling he will finish for me.

"You're afraid." He states simply. "You don't wanna tell your mom because you're afraid I'll leave again and Lorelai will be able to say I told you so."

I don't answer. I don't know what to say.

He shakes his head. "If I can't even convince you, how am I supposed to convince Lorelai?"

I don't respond. My hands remain stubbornly at my hips and I can feel my forehead and eyes working in unison creating a menacing scowl, illustrating my anger with him.

Not one to be outdone, Jess' expression matches mine perfectly confirming what I first assumed that this is not just any fight.

Finally having had enough of our juvenile staring contest, he pushes past me and the door slams shut.

I know this is when I'm supposed to feel guilty, but I am too angry to notice. I'm being unreasonable. But at the moment I don't care.

- - - -

Two hours of post-fight raging later, I care. I care very much. And I am sorry. Truly sorry.

- - - -

A/N: I'm almost scared to ask you to review, but…go ahead. I'm prepared for it.


	8. Hurt

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

HURT

I don't know how long I've been sitting here.

I don't know how long I've been crying.

I just know I started sometime after Jess left and now it's dark outside.

I can't remember the last time I felt like this. It's a feeling like nothing else that can't be described by a single word.

Hurt. Sad. Devastated. Guilty. Sorry. Hollow. Hurt.

Of course I remember the last time I felt like this. It was three years ago when Jess left. I know I buried myself in exams and graduation and European travels and I never said anything to anyone. I didn't let anyone know it affected me. But it did. So much. It took me a long time to pick up the pieces and put them together again in a semblance of a life, only to have it ripped apart again a year later when he had asked me, begged me for a second chance. He had begged me and I had rightly refused, but that didn't mean I wanted to. That didn't mean I wouldn't spend hours wondering about him. Where he was. What he was doing. Who he was with. It had been the second chance I had hoped for and I had blown it.

He was right. Of course he was right. I should have told her. I am afraid to, but I should have. He deserves that.

This was my third chance with Jess. And I have blown it.

I slump against the wall and cover my face with my hands.

"Rory!" Paris knocks and opens the door to my bedroom. "Hey, Gilmore!" She stops in her tracks as she spots me sitting on the floor. "What's up with you?"

I wipe my eyes. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Did you have a fight with that Kerouac guy?"

"Jess." I correct her.

She rolls her eyes. "Jess, then. Did you have a fight with Jess?"

I make a face at her, too exhausted to tell her to go away and leave me alone.

"Are you all right?" Her voice actually sounds mildly concerned. Well, at least as concerned as Paris' voice can sound. Still, it surprises me. Because all though we have been friends for years now we've never been the kind of friends who comfort each other and listen to each others boy troubles. Her concern is sweet and had I not felt like a train wreck, it would have made me smile.

Instead I offer her a vague reassurance. "Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it."

She nods and doesn't press the matter. For which I am grateful.

Suddenly I get the urge to get out of here. I stand up and pick up my purse. "I'm gonna go down to Stars Hollow, I don't think I'll come back before tomorrow, so can I borrow your notes?"

"Sure."

"Oh and could you stand in for me at the paper? I really don't wanna be editing over e-mail."

Her face momentarily lights up, but stays concerned for me. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Nothing two hundred pounds of ice cream can't fix." I attempt a smile. "I'm just gonna go down there and I have something I need to talk to mom about, so…"

"Okay. See ya." She calls after me as I leave.

- - - -

I pull up in front of the Crap Shack as the clock turns ten. I can see all the lights are on and mom and Luke are in the living room watching TV.

I knock lightly on the door before I open it and walk in. "Mom?"

Mom comes from the living room. "Rory."

No hug.

That is the first thing I notice.

Stern voice.

She has a weird, cold expression on her face and she crosses her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh Jeez." I hear Luke mumble from the couch as he continues to stare at the TV screen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asks pointedly.

I am so confused at this point I don't even understand what she's talking about. "About what?"

"Don't play dumb!"

"I'm not, I just don't…"

"How long have you and Jess been seeing each other?"

My heart drops. How does she know that? Oh, I'm in for it now. So much for no fighting.

"You went to Philadelphia like a week ago, were you guys together then?"

"No that's when we started this whole thing." I'm exhausted. The last thing I wanna do is have another argument. The fight with Jess was plenty.

She goes on a rant and I just let her. I stand there and take it. I drift in and out, not paying attention to what she's saying.

"…he left you, Rory! He…"

I cut her off. "How do you even know about this?"

"Luke told me."

Surprised I turn to Luke who is sitting red faced on the couch, still clutching the remote pretending to watch TV.

"How did you know?"

"I talk with Jess on the phone once in a while and he alluded to something." He sighs. "I mentioned it to Lorelai and she went haywire…I'm sorry, Rory I didn't mean to get say something I shouldn't, I just figured, you had told her."

I want to tell Luke it's all right, but at the moment it's not.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Mom speaks up again.

"Because I knew you'd react like this!" I yell, for the first time in this conversation matching her volume. "Even though I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, I knew you would freak out and it would end in a huge fight!"

"I thought we told each other everything!"

"We usually do, but how am I supposed to tell you something like this, huh?" My throat feels sore from all the yelling and crying and my voice is starting to crack. "How am I supposed to tell you about something that makes me happy, when I know you will do all you can to pick it apart?"

"That is so unfair, Rory!"

"Really? Is it?" I'm incredulous.

"Yes it is! I have always suppor…"

"You have got to be kidding me! Supportive? Do you call this supportive? If this is how you show support I'd rather be without it!"

It's like she hasn't heard me. Perhaps she hasn't. Perhaps she's ignoring it.

"And with him! You've got to be kidding me?! When you were together he treated you like crap and then he left you without saying anything!"

"That's three years ago, mom! He's grown up. He's learned. He's changed!"

"He will hurt you Rory, he has before and he'll do it again!"

"No, he won't! That's in the past, that's history!"

She's defiant. "History has a way of repeating itself."

I've had it. I walk out the door, get in my car and drive off in no particular direction.

- - - -

Half an hour later I'm still driving around aimlessly.

And I'm crying again.

I knew she would react that way. She was bound to freak out, but it still hurts. And the fight with Jess is still fresh in my memory. And that hurts.

It hurts like hell.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.

Next chapter has Jess. Just a little spoiler to get you not to give up on the story.


	9. Never Supposed to be Easy

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

I magically found some time to write in the midst of all the crazy Christmas preparations. After arguing for the last two weeks with my boyfriend whether to have a plastic Christmas tree or a real one we figured it out. I won of course. And he is currently standing in line to purchase a beautiful one hundred percent authentic Christmas tree. As well as calling me every few minutes to bitch about it. So with the apartment to myself, I am writing the last instalment of this story.

Before Christmas that is. After Christmas there will be more.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everybody!

- - - -

NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE EASY

I am very surprised to find myself standing outside Truncheon.

I guess that's what happens when you've left your angry mother in the middle of a fight. You drive three hours to Philadelphia to see your even angrier boyfriend. If that is what he is. Or was. I don't know anymore. What I do know is that I need to talk to him. I have to talk to him.

I can't find any kind of bell to ring and I highly doubt they will hear me if I knock. Resorting to the only option I can think of, I start throwing small rocks at one of the windows. Soon the window is opened and a guy I can't remember having met, pokes his head out.

"Can I help you?" He seems a bit confused and I suppose that is understandable.

"Can you get Jess for me?"

He disappears back inside and then Jess appears.

"Rory?" Even he seems surprised.

"Yeah it's me." He doesn't say anything. "Could you come down?" He stays quiet. "I have some stuff I wanna say to you and I'm gonna say it even though I have to stand here screaming, waking up the whole street in the process." He still doesn't say anything. This would be the time where the old Rory would have let him be. But since I am currently on the verge of a break down after a day of crying and fighting, I am not about to let him brush me off tonight. "Just come down here. Please?" My voice cracks, sounding almost as desperate as I feel.

He disappears and closes the window. Was that it? I'm getting increasingly anxious. Then I see the door opening and Jess steps out on the street.

I walk up to him. "Hey."

He nods, but doesn't say anything.

"Still mad I see." It's lame, but I honestly don't know where to begin.

"Yeah, I'm still mad."

"I swear to you, I was gonna tell mom, but I just…"

"You don't get it do you?" He stares at me. "This isn't about Lorelai, or her knowing. That's not the point."

"I know." He's not convinced. He shakes his head and avoids my eyes, but I refuse to let him. "I know." I repeat and this time he gets the fact that I do. Of course I know.

He sighs loudly. "I don't wanna have this talk tonight. I don't wanna have it here on the curb either."

"But, Jess, we need to talk. You can't just shut me out after one argument. You have to give me the chance to at least explain." My voice is pleading. I'm just so scared he's gonna say that this was it. My second chance has come and gone. I'm scared he's gonna tell me I blew it.

He rubs his eyes. "It's late, let's go to sleep and we'll talk in the morning."

A thousand pound weight was just lifted off my shoulder.

- - - -

I follow him upstairs and into the apartment. It's a bit of a mess, just as you would expect when it is occupied by four guys. I am briefly introduced to the only roommate present before Jess shows me his bedroom.

"Okay," he says. "The bathroom's down the hall, my closet if you need something besides jeans to sleep in and there's the bed. Goodnight."

He starts walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep." He states matter-of-factly.

"Where?"

"On the couch."

"No, don't do that. I mean, I get that you're too pissed off to be sleeping in the same room with me, but you should get to sleep in your own bed. I'll take the couch."

He rolls his eyes at me. "Just take the bed."

If there is one thing I'm not gonna do it's starting another fight about a couch. "Okay, go lie down on the uncomfortable couch, but don't blame me when you can't sleep."

My attempt at a joke goes unrecognized. "I won't."

He looks at me. "The only reason I'm letting you stay is because it's too late for you to drive back to Yale."

I nod sadly.

He leaves the room. And I'm on the verge of tears. Again.

- - - -

4:15 am.

I have been drifting in and out of sleep and I can't take it anymore. I don't care if he wants to wait until the morning, I have to talk to him now. I need to explain myself. I need to apologize.

Jess' sweatpants are threatening to slip down my hips so I tie the string and walk out of the bedroom to look around the dark apartment. The couch is empty. Where is he? I look in the kitchen, but come up empty handed. Could he be downstairs? Maybe he couldn't sleep either so he went for a walk? I decide to check, so I walk down the stairs.

I find him lying on a couch in the back of the bookstore. He's on his back with his forearm slung over his face covering his eyes.

I walk closer and he suddenly removes his arm looking to see who it is. When he spots me he sighs and puts his arm back in place.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are you doing sleeping down here?" I answer his question with one of my own.

"The couch upstairs is even more uncomfortable than this one."

"Can you sleep?" I ask.

"No." He admits.

"Can we talk then? I mean, we might as well. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to sleep afterwards."

"Fine."

He makes no sign of moving, so instead I sit down facing him, but a few feet from him on the floor leaning against a bookshelf.

"Mom knows."

"She does?" He sounds surprised. "You've told her?"

"No." I sigh. "After our fight I went down to Stars Hollow to…I don't know, wallow I guess. But mom opened the door and she looked really mad and then she just started yelling at me. She was like 'why didn't you tell me' and then I knew that she knew about us. Turns out Luke told her, because apparently you'd told Luke, he figured mom knew, so he had said something about it to her and she flipped. And then I was at the receiving end of it when I came down there."

Jess doesn't say anything, but I know I have his attention.

"I should have told her. I wish I had. It wasn't because of you though, you have to know that. I was scared of her reaction, I didn't wanna fight." I pause. "Instead because I didn't tell her I ended up having two fights today." I laugh quietly and without any trace of humour.

"You'll make up." He says.

"I know mom and I will, but that's not what I'm worried about at the moment."

He sighs. "I'm just tired of being an issue, you know? It's like last time when we were dating I know your mom didn't like it. And I get that I was the kid who fucked up and could potentially corrupt her daughter, but it's been three years. I've grown up, I've changed, I'm not like that anymore. And still you feel like you have to keep us a secret because Lorelai would hate it. And you were right too. She did hate it. And…I don't know…" He trails off.

"It doesn't matter to me, Jess. Of course I would prefer not to fight with her and have you guys get along, but if she's determined to be difficult about it, that's her choice."

"It matters to me." He says it quietly as if he doesn't want me to hear it.

I hear it, I hear it as if he had shouted it at me, but I don't respond. Jess has never opened up like this to me and I don't expect it to be a regular occurrence. I don't want to push it. I don't want to push him.

And then I say what I came here to say. "I'm sorry."

He nods, but doesn't respond. We just stay there in the dark. And as I'm looking at him I come to a realization that has been hidden in my sub conscience for three years.

"I think I love you." My voice is soft.

So is his response. "Don't say that. Don't say that and think it fixes everything."

"That's not why I said it."

"Why did you then?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Just wanted to."

I know he recognizes the words as his own and knows what they mean.

He stays quiet for a long time and I'm not sure if he's still awake or not.

"I think I love you too." He states quietly. "But I'm not sure that's a good thing at the moment."

"This was never supposed to be easy, Jess."

"Nothing with us appears to be easy."

"Some things are."

There's a pause.

He removes his arm from his eyes and turns his head to look straight into mine.

"Ror, tell me what you want. Don't think about anybody else and what they want, just you. What do you want?"

This time I don't hesitate. "I want you."

He stares at me. It is as if he's trying to see whether I'm being honest or not.

I shift awkwardly as I am growing increasingly uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

Right when I'm about to say something, he nods. Then he gets up and walks towards the stairs motioning with his arm for me to follow.

"Let's get some sleep."

- - - -

This time we are both in Jess' bed. He's lying close to me, so close that I can feel him breathing against the skin of my neck. But he's not touching me, his arm is not around my waist and I feel oddly bothered by it.

It makes me uncertain.

I know he's no longer mad at me, but I'm not sure if I'm forgiven or not. Still, I am here. If he really didn't want me here he would have stayed on the couch downstairs, right? God, I hope so.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	10. A Proper Makeup

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

NB! I've upped the rating to M this chapter and for good reason.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

A PROPER MAKEUP

I feel Jess stretching behind me and I turn over to face him.

"Morning." He says.

"Morning." I whisper.

Silence.

I don't say anything and neither does he. I am going crazy not knowing whether he's forgiven me or not. I'm fidgeting with a loose thread on the sheet contemplating whether I should just come right out and ask him. I try to work up the courage to do so, but fall short as I am not sure I want to hear his response.

"I'm sorry." I repeat my statement from last night.

"I know you are."

"Really sorry." I emphasise while bravely making eye contact. "I never meant for you to be upset or anything, I just…It's difficult this thing with mom. Her and I were all right again after that whole disaster last year, and I was scared I'd ruin that. And you and me is something I want and she doesn't understand it. She just doesn't get it."

"Even if she doesn't get it, she might be okay with it." After a second he adds. "Eventually."

"She's not. She might be eventually, but at the moment, last night, she seemed far from okay with it."

"Look," he shifts a little in the bed so that we're eyelevel with each other. "I never expected her to be _happy_ about me being back in your life. Yes I admit that like I said last night, I thought she'd be okay with it. That she would _tolerate_ it. But the thing that got to me was that with you not telling her it was like you weren't sure. Like you had the same doubts about me that she has."

"I don't. And I am sure."

"Good. Me too."

God, I hope he gets just how sorry I am because I'm running out of ways to tell him.

I study his face trying to read him. Trying to find some sort of sign telling me for sure whether he's forgiven me or not.

Finally I give up.

"Are we okay?" My voice is timid.

Jess takes my hand in his and entwine our fingers.

"Yeah, we're okay."

I smile. A smile which he returns with a beautiful smile of his own. The sparkle in his eyes is back and I can tell that it is indeed okay. He's no longer hurt and we're okay.

He leans in to kiss me and I am hungry for it so I deepen it. The kiss slows down and he lingers on my lips before pulling back and looking in my eyes. His hand squeezes mine and he brings it up kissing it lightly and the very un-Jess-like gesture makes me giggle.

"Do you realize we actually had a long serious conversation last night?" I ask him.

"I do."

"We have never had one of those before."

"Can't say I recall one."

"Thank you." I say to him. I know that wasn't easy for him and it would never have happened with the old Jess.

"Welcome." He kisses my forehead lightly.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask somewhat distracted.

He's playing with the strap of my tank top.

"'Course you can." He kisses my bare shoulder

"Are we like together, together now?"

"What do you mean together, together?"

He knows perfectly well what I mean. He just wants to hear me ask. Bastard.

I feel ridiculous. This is what you say to each other when you're twelve. I am twenty-one. I am above this.

"Are we boyfriend/girlfriend?" God, that sounds juvenile.

He smirks. Mocking me. "If you wanna be."

I smile, because despite the mocking and the sarcasm I know he meant it, and I kiss him.

I intended it to be a short sweet kiss, but Jess has other plans. He licks my bottom lip and I respond immediately, opening my mouth. The passion grows rapidly. Jess is stroking his tongue against mine and wrapping my arm around him I press my body against his. He rolls over on his back bringing me on top of him. I straddle his hips and pull him up in a sitting position never breaking our kiss. Jess slips his hands under my tank top and explores the skin of my back. I grip his shoulders tightly and softly moan at the sensation.

I can't take it anymore. I need to feel his skin against mine. I slide my hands down his chest and grabbing the hem of his t-shirt I pull it over his head and toss it on the floor. Following my lead he takes off my tank top. Now that we're both free of clothes on our upper bodies he pulls me into a tight hug. My fingers get lost in his hair and I lightly kiss his neck. The vein in his neck is throbbing and I trace my tongue down it, before stopping to suck at a particular spot I remember used to make him moan. And as he does, I lightly bite him causing him to break away from our hug and crash his lips to mine in a fierce kiss.

I cradle his head in my hands and give in to the kiss letting him take control and set the pace. I shiver as his hands travel slowly from my hips up to my breasts. My heart is pounding and I nearly lose my mind as I feel Jess hands gently kneading my breasts in his hands. Breaking our kiss my head tumbles back as he traces his thumbs around hardened nipples. I lose control and force my hips against his and he groans loudly as I push against that particular spot. Feeling him hard against me does little to calm me and sends me even further into my foggy state. And knowing it's me affecting him this way only adds to my excitement.

His hands have moved and are now tugging at the sweatpants I'm wearing. I move off of him and remove them and my underwear and climb back into bed all in the space of about seven seconds. Back in bed I remove the last of Jess' clothing as well. I am about to go back into my earlier position when Jess takes control. He pushes me down on my back and settles between my legs. But he doesn't enter me. Not yet.

Instead he takes his sweet time teasing me trailing hot open-mouth kisses down my neck and across my collar bone. Then he moves and takes my left breast in his mouth and my fingers grip the sheets tightly, trying to release the tension that seems to be all too much.

"Oh, Jess." I arch my back.

I want to feel him.

Really feel him.

I grab his shoulders and pull slightly and he gets the hint. Coming up to face me he trails kisses from my stomach and up to my lips where he gives me a soft kiss.

He reaches into the night stand and comes back with a condom.

"I'm on the pill." I say barely finding my voice and take it from him tossing it somewhere on the floor.

He nods and goes for another kiss, this time it's wet and full of fervour. Suddenly I feel his hand between my legs and I moan into the kiss as he actually inserts a finger into my body. He is stroking me slowly and adds another finger when I push against him. I break the kiss to bite down hard on my lip and my breathing comes out in pants as Jess adds more pressure. His fingers move with ease in a steady rhythm and all I can do is try not to scream. He's in control and I am more than happy to have given it up.

He removes his fingers and strokes his hands up the length of my body. He braces himself up on his palms and I'm not getting enough contact. I pull on his arms and he bends them and instead uses his elbows to hold himself up. He has slowed down his actions, but I can feel his heart pounding in his chest and his eyes are studying my face.

"Beautiful." He says and traces his forefinger across my eyebrows, my nose and my lips.

His simple comment means the world to me and I kiss him. A kiss to which he responds eagerly.

And then he enters me. He pulls out of our kiss and buries his face in my shoulder as I arch my back in time with his thrusts. The feeling of him inside me is overpowering and I can't concentrate on anything else. The passion is delirious and we're no longer able to hold back. His thrusts are hard and I grind my hips against his, our pace is quickening and we are both desperately searching for our release. Leaning his weight on his knees, his hands busy themselves with my body and they feel rough against my sensitive skin. I moan loudly as he kneads my left breast in his hand while he increases the intensity of his thrusts. I'm close to my climax and as Jess forces his tongue into my mouth in a hot kiss, I am pushed over the edge. I pull back to let out a scream and push against him as my muscles clench around him. He groans loudly and thrusts into me one more time before reaching his own climax. He rests against me as we both try to regain our breath.

Jess gently removes himself from me and rolls over on his side. He pulls me into a hug. I close my eyes and don't concentrate on anything other than the sound of his heartbeat. I feel him kiss my temple and I sigh cuddling even closer. Sex has left me exhausted and I feel myself drifting asleep.

- - - -

I wake up to find Jess staring at me, his arms still wrapped tightly around me. I smile at him and drop a soft kiss on his chest.

"Hi." I whisper.

"Hey, yourself." He smirks.

I lay my head back down on the pillow and close my eyes. Then I feel Jess' fingers lightly skim down my arm. He draws a pattern I can't make out before reaching my hand and entwining our fingers. His gentle explorations elicit a tingling feeling running all through my body.

I feel him shifting onto his back. For a second I pout at the sudden loss of skin on skin contact, but then he pulls me to lie directly on top of him on his chest. Curious as to what exactly he has in mind, I do nothing to help him. And he manages just fine on his own. With a firm grip around my thigh he removes my leg from in between his and places it so that I am straddling his hips. Adjusting my hips a little bit to fit perfectly with his own, he apparently has me where he wants me. His hands go down my back, one arm wrapping around my waist holding me in place and the other slung casually across my butt.

In my foggy post-sex-state I have never felt closer to anyone. And I thank him by giving him a soft kiss.

"Can you stay here 'til Sunday?" He nuzzles my neck.

"Of course. You think I'd go home after that?"

He chuckles against my skin and places a wet kiss on my collarbone.

"Good, huh?" He smirks.

I blush furiously and bury my face in his chest.

"Yes, it was." I admit quietly.

He chuckles.

"That's another thing we've never done before." He smirks and I laugh despite myself at his horrible joke.

- - - -

A/N: There's nothing like making up, right?

Anyways, reviews are always appreciated.


	11. Random

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

And **Spuffied**, here's your New Year's update. Hope your operation went well.

Happy New Year everybody!

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

RANDOM

I am sitting at the kitchen table watching Jess prepare breakfast. If anyone had told me three years ago that Jess would ever cook me breakfast, I would have laughed in their face. But this is just another side to the new Jess and I have to say I'm enjoying it. The sight of him padding around the kitchen wearing nothing but jeans only adds to my enjoyment. He's gorgeous and I can't help but stare.

"What?" Jess pulls me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, nothing."

He seems amused, but doesn't comment further.

The coffee machine beeps signalling it's done and I get myself a cup.

"You want some?" I gesture to the pot.

"Yeah, thanks."

I pour coffee into two cups and turn Jess. He's leaning on the counter waiting for the last pancakes to be ready and all that bare skin is too much for me to resist. Setting both our cups down on the table I walk over to him. I put my hands on his shoulders and run them slowly down his arms. As my hands inch their way up his torso my lips grace his collarbone. He makes a soft sound and his arms go around my waist tugging me closer connecting my hips with his. This urges me on and I gently suck on his collarbone. I pull back slightly and my hands finish their journey as I wrap them around his neck. All the while Jess is looking at me intently. Slowly I lean in to kiss him and as I feel him respond I press my body against his resting my weight on him. The kiss is full of undefined emotion. No tongue. All lips. I break the kiss and bury my face in his neck. He sighs and tightens his hold on me dropping a kiss on my head.

I inhale and breathe in his scent. He smells like a strange mix of cologne, sweat and even some of my perfume. I kiss his neck and stick out the tip of my tongue against his skin tasting him. He smells and tastes like sex.

"You don't smoke anymore." I state as I can't find any trace of cigarettes.

Jess chuckles. "Well, that was random."

"Have you quit?"

"Yes, I've quit. Lung cancer just didn't seem appealing anymore."

"Yeah, that is a bit of a turn off, isn't it?" I glance over his shoulder. "Oh, the food is ready. Let's eat."

Jess chuckles at my enthusiasm and we sit down at the table.

"I can't believe you made me breakfast." I smile.

"Believe it."

"And it's really good too."

"Glad you like it."

"It's weird having these kinds of breakfasts without being in a diner."

"Yeah, how so?"

"Well, my entire life if I've wanted breakfast like this, I've gone to Luke's. Any other place I've ended up eating cereal 'cause that was the only kind of food I've ever had at home. And look at you, here we have perfect pancakes made from scratch and everything you needed to make them was in this apartment. Amazing."

"The miracle of grocery shopping." He says and I make a face at him. "Have you and Lorelai even tried cooking? It doesn't have to have been a successful attempt, just have you ever tried?"

I take a sip of my coffee while I'm thinking it over.

"Have you?" Jess repeats.

"I'm thinking!"

He shakes his head at me.

"No I don't think so, I can't think of anything." I conclude.

"Do you have any recipe books?"

"No we don't, they're too complicated. We have Luke and Sookie. And now I have you."

"How exactly did you live this long?" He looks at me incredulous.

"Did you miss the Sookie and Luke part? And there's always been pop tarts and we're exceptional at ordering take out, we know all the menus by heart."

"You know what, I'm gonna teach you how to make something more substantial then toast and pop tarts."

"Who said I can make toast?"

He raises his eyebrows at me. "You can't?

"Mine always end up burned." I shrug.

"You have to adjust the heat."

"You can do that?" It's my turn to be surprised.

"Okay, we'll start with toast."

"You'll teach me how to cook?"

"Yup."

I point to him using my fork. "You are just trying to corrupt me and I shall resist."

"Resistance is futile."

My eyes grow wide as saucers. "Did you just make a Star Trek reference?"

"I didn't make a Star Trek reference."

"If you did I'll choose to ignore it. 'Cause I can't date a trekkie."

"Hey I am not a trekkie!"

I laugh and lean over the table to kiss him.

"So how's Yale treating you? Are you still stressed out?" He asks.

"It's okay. I mean, I'm so happy to be back, but I have so much to catch up on, so it's kinda overwhelming at the moment."

"You'll get the hang of it."

"I'm trying to find some sort of routine to stick to, to make it easier."

"Making lists?" He smirks and I make a face at him.

"Don't make fun of my lists, they help me, you know. Everybody makes lists. Everybody _should _make lists."

"Your lists aren't normal people lists. Your lists are insane."

"Maybe, but they help when I'm stressed out. And now I'm stressed out, so I have a lot of lists."

He smiles and shakes his head.

"I just wanna relax. Take a breather." I say. "I'm feeling a bit too much like a coca cola can."

He looks at me questioningly. "Huh?"

"Shaken up and ready to explode." I explain and he nods. "I think this past year has come as a bit of a shock. Just an epiphany of how I…where I sit, you know?"

"Meaning what exactly? Where you sort of fit in?"

"Meaning I'm a grown up."

"Yeah, I've had that." He smiles.

Then the phone rings, but goes straight to answering machine.

_Hey, Jess it's Luke. Listen Lorelai and Rory had a little falling out last night and Rory stormed out of here. Anyways, Lorelai's been trying to reach her, but she isn't answering her phone and she called Paris, but she's not there either. So I'm thinking she's with you. If she is, could you just let us know? Thanks._

"Shit." I get up and find my purse. Digging through it I find my cell phone. Nine unanswered calls from mom.

"Shit." I repeat my earlier statement.

Jess comes up behind me and rests his hands on my hips.

Whispering softly in my ear. "Just call her. Let her know you're all right." He kisses my cheek and goes back to the kitchen to give me some privacy.

I stare at my phone.

I suppose I should call her.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	12. Just Like Rocky

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

JUST LIKE ROCKY

Sinking down on the couch I dial the numbers quickly. It's best to do it quickly. Quick and painless, right?

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"Rory?" Her voice sounds relieved.

"Yeah, it's me."

I pause.

When none of us say anything I continue. "You've been calling?"

"Yeah, I was wondering where you were. You just stormed out of here, so I was worried, you know?"

"Nothing to worry about."

For the first time since the Yale fiasco, conversation between us doesn't some easy. The fight we had clearly isn't forgotten by either her or me.

"I'm in Philadelphia." I blurt out when the silence is no longer tolerable.

She chuckles silently and without humour. "Yeah, I figured."

"I know you did, Luke just called here."

She remains silent and it annoys me to no end.

I know why she's so silent. She's expecting an apology. But I am not in the wrong here and I'll be damned if I apologize to her. And she should know better than that by now. I am not prepared to apologize for wanting to be with Jess. I am not seventeen anymore.

"I'm fine, by the way." I spit sarcastically.

"What?" She sounds surprised at my sudden outburst.

"Oh, nothing I just figured you might wanna know how your daughter's doing after storming away last night." I may not sound like the seventeen year old Rory at the moment, but I am starting to sound increasingly like the seventeen year old Jess.

She sighs explosively. "That's just unfair, Rory and you know that's not what this is about."

"What is this about then?"

"This is about you and Jess." Her voice rises just a bit. "I can't help the way I feel about this. I think you're making a mistake."

My blood reaches its boiling point as she finishes her sentence. Reflecting this, my voice comes out in a venomous hiss.

"I'm happy, mom. For the first time in a long time, I'm happy. And guess what? I am not about to let you ruin that for me."

I hang up the phone, momentarily wishing I was speaking from one of those office type phones just so I could slam it down.

Staring into the air at nothing in particular, I try to compose myself.

Taking a deep breath I feel my heartbeat return to normal, so I stand up and make my way through the living room and into the kitchen. I sit back down at the kitchen table and continue eating. Jess is staring at me with a look crossed between curiosity and amusement.

A few moments pass by, me never taking my eyes off my food, Jess never taking his eyes off me. Trying to get my attention Jess places a finger under my chin, tilting my head up and this way he's effectively forcing me to look at him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just…She gets me really angry sometimes."

"Sorry."

I shake my head. "Don't worry about it." I dismiss his apology. He shouldn't feel bad. This fight is me and her.

He nods. "So, what do you wanna do today?" He asks, changing the subject.

"Well, we've already spent a good bulk of the day inside," he smirks at my implication. "So I'd like to get out of here."

"And go where?"

"You have to show me Philadelphia. I wanna see the Liberty Bell and we have to run up the stairs to the museum like Rocky!"

His face scrunches up in a weird expression trying to communicate his absolute disdain for my requests.

"And then," I continue ignoring him. "I want to see the best coffee place and of course the best bookstore. And then as the grand finale," I gesture excitedly. "You have to take me to a bookstore that carries your book. I have seen it in a store in Hartford, but I wanna see it in a store here in Philadelphia where it all started."

He smiles at me. He may not be the type to say it out loud, certainly he will be the first to criticize it, but he's proud of his book. I know he is. And he should be.

"Please?" I pout at him.

"All right, I'll show you around. But I am not," he emphasizes, "running up the stairs like Rocky."

"You're no fun." I accuse playfully.

- - - -

"I had fun today." I tell him and kiss his cheek.

"Mhm." He hums against my forehead as he places a quick kiss there.

I shift a little closer to him on the park bench we are currently occupying. He responds by wrapping his arm around my waist tucking me in properly against his side. We have spent the whole day walking around the city and I am exhausted. After some discussion with Jess I agreed to skip the Liberty Bell, deciding it wasn't worth all the complaining. But I didn't relent on seeing the steps up to the museum. And I may not have gotten him to run up the stairs, but at least I got him to walk.

I relax against Jess for a moment before I remember:

"Oh my God!" I sit up quickly.

"What?" He's surprised at the sudden disconnection.

"We haven't looked for your book yet!"

"Guess not."

"Well, come on, then!" I get up and pull him up with me.

- - - -

"It's so you." I say as my fingers skim the simple black cover.

"Well, it is mine." He says a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Yes it is." I smile at him. "When did you start writing?" I ask him suddenly very curious. I can't remember him ever saying anything about it before, not that he would have.

"I've always been writing, I guess." He says shrugging his shoulders.

"No, but I mean seriously writing. Like 'this will be my career' kind of writing."

He thinks for a second before responding. "When I was in California."

"You lived in California?"

He nods.

"When?" I ask.

"Right after Stars Hollow."

"Oh." I say.

Then it sinks in.

"Oh…So that's where you went after…"

"Yeah." He confirms without elaborating. To be honest I don't know if I want him to elaborate. Not yet anyways.

He brought it up, not me. Personally I would have liked to save this conversation for another day.

"Could we talk about this some other time?" He asks.

Apparently he's of the same opinion.

"Yeah, I think that would be good. No need to go down that road at the moment."

"Yeah, me either."

I return his smirk with a smile.

After having put his book back on the shelf I turn to him.

"But sometime, though…" I trail off, leaving it for him to finish.

And he does.

"We will." There's a pause. "Sometime."

- - - -

A/N: Couldn't resist the Rocky reference.

Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	13. Home

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

HOME

"Why are all the lights turned off?" I point to the dark whole that is Truncheon as we approach it on the side walk.

"We close early on Saturdays."

"Today's Friday, Jess." I remind him.

He frowns in confusion. "Then I don't know…" He trails off slowly.

"It's probably nothing." I dismiss it.

"Yeah, the guys probably found something better to do with their Friday night."

"And left their very livelihood unattended."

Jess smirks and holds open the door for me. "That's prioritizing for you."

I roll my eyes at him, then let out a little squeal as I trip on a stack of books nearly falling over.

"You all right?" Jess asks with poorly masked amusement.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I can't see shit with the lights off though."

Then Jess is at my side and he takes my hand in his. He then expertly guides us through the store without any of us tripping over any stacks of books.

"You made it seem so easy." I pout as we walk up the stairs.

- - - -

When Jess swings open the door to the apartment we find the answer as to why Truncheon was closed. The guys are here. They're taking out dishes and forks from the cupboards and on the table there are several takeout containers.

"There you are!" The guy from last night says. I think his name is Matthew.

"What are you guys doing?" Jess asks somewhat bewildered by the scene in front of him.

"We're having dinner." Matthew announces. "And you're dining with us." He points to me. "We want to be introduced to this girl of yours."

Everyone has stopped in their tracks and are now approaching us. I blush a little at all this sudden attention. Sub consciously I've tightened my hold of Jess' hand as well.

"I'm Johnny. Jess' roommate." A blonde haired guy extends his hand to me.

"I'm Rory." I shake it. "Jess' girlfriend."

"We figured as much." Another of the guys extends his hand to me. This one has brown hair and looks strangely similar to the guy I think is named Matthew. "I'm Will."

I shake his hand.

"And Matthew, right?" I say and point to the guy from last night.

"That's right."

I point to Will and Matthew. "You guys look…"

"We know. everybody thinks we're brothers, but we're really not." Matthew says.

"There's no way I'd be related to that freak and his fetish for incomprehensible poetry." Will counters.

"Again with the poet, he wasn't that bad!"

"He cleared the room, Matt, so yes I think he was."

"They're both freaks of nature." Johnny offers.

I nod. "Well, nice to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too. Now let's eat!"

They all walk towards the kitchen.

I nod and take a deep breath to try and calm myself. I am not too fond of being in a room with strangers and certainly not when the entire focus seems to be me. As if sensing this Jess pulls at my hand stopping me from following into the kitchen. He places his free hand on my hip and rests his forehead against mine.

"We don't have to stay," he whispers so only I will hear it. "Let's just make an excuse and go out just the two of us. We can go to a restaurant or something, anything you want. We can do this an other night."

I smile. "That's sweet, but I think I wanna stay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, they're your roommates so I wanna meet them. It'll be fun. We can go out tomorrow."

"Okay, if you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Okay, we'll stay then."

"Just don't leave me alone tonight." My voice is barely audible as I pose my somewhat childish request.

He squeezes my hand. "I won't."

He leans in and kisses me before leading me to the kitchen.

- - - -

"Okay, Rory everything on this side of the table," Matthew gestures to the left, "is from tonight. While everything on this side of the table," he gestures to the right, "is from whenever that we've dug out from the fridge."

"Basically, stay on the left." Will says.

"But somebody has to eat it!" Matthew protests.

"This is Rory's first time meeting us. We can't poison her on the first meeting." Will turns to me. "Just…"

"Stay on the left. Got it." I finish for him.

I frown as I briefly examine the food on the right side of the table. Even I, with all my years of junk food experience, am not capable of determining the content of most of the cartons. Turning to the left I start scooping food onto my plate.

"You want a beer?" Jess asks me.

"Yes, please." I take the bottle he is holding out to me.

"Okay," he says grabbing his plate. "Here we go." He winks at me in passing and I am quick to follow him as he sits down on the couch in the living room where everyone has gathered.

- - - -

Two hours later I am, to my surprise, thoroughly enjoying myself. Perhaps sensing my discomfort with so many new people, the guys were quick to put me at ease. Soon I found myself joining their conversation like I would with my own friends.

One interesting thing about this whole encounter was that I suddenly realised I have never met any of Jess' friends before. When we were together three years ago he never once mentioned any he might have had in New York City and given the circumstances, I never had the courage to ask. Unsurprisingly he never mentioned any friends he might have had in Stars Hollow either, not that I think he had any. He didn't exactly welcome it. Except with me of course. The only time I can think of is when he had the black eye. When I asked him about it he said he was throwing a football with a friend and had gotten hit in the eye. Come to think of it, that story never seemed quite believable…

This group of people, however, certainly are his friends. They seem an odd fit, but they work well together, one playing off the other. It's intriguing to me to see this other side of Jess. He's embarrassed when they share stories with me Jess would probably prefer I didn't know. He's proud as he elicits the same reaction from his friends as he retaliates with a story of his own. At a point in time I would have begged him to move closer to me, to New Haven maybe and I must admit the thought has crossed my mind, but not now. Philadelphia is good for him. This is where he needs to be in order to be happy and have a full life.

"So, Jess you're taking the morning shift tomorrow." I am pulled out of my thoughts at Johnny's announcement.

Jess groans. "You've got to be kidding me. Why?"

"You usually take the morning shift on Fridays," Johnny smirks. "But you didn't show up for work this morning did you?"

Bending my head I suddenly become very interested in my shoes. This also enables me to hide the blush colouring my cheeks at the implication. I cast a quick glance at Jess and he grins at me causing me to elbow him in the side.

Johnny laughs. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you had better things to do with your time. And I was more than happy to fill in for you and leave you to it…"

I roll my eyes at him. "Oh my God." But I can't help but giggle.

"But don't think you don't owe me one." Johnny finishes.

Jess just stares at him. Then he turns to me and I just shrug my shoulders, not sure what else to say. "Fine." He says.

"Cool." Johnny responds, then turns to me. "Listen I was more than happy to do it. It's about time Jess got a girl."

His comment catches me completely off guard and I burst out laughing causing wild protests from Jess.

Jess' protests are effectively ignored as the guys continue.

"But I gotta say," Will says. "The last girl he dated…mmm."

All the guys nod in agreement.

"Thank you!" Jess exclaims, his comment laced with sarcasm.

I laugh at him.

"Oh, come on man," Matthew says. "I'm sure Rory's got some good looking exes too."

"Okay, now we're definitely changing the subject." I say causing them to laugh.

- - - -

"I had a really good time tonight." I tell Jess as I'm lying in his bed waiting for him to join me.

He's currently getting undressed and the sheer sight of him without his shirt off is enough to drive me crazy.

"I'm glad." He grins at me and pulls off his pants leaving him in just his boxers.

He saunters over to the bed and gets under the covers and I scoot closer to him.

"I can see why you like it here." I say.

He nods. "Yeah it's a good place to be." Pause. "It's home, you know? I've moved around a bit in my lifetime, but this is the only place outside maybe New York, that I would call home."

I nod. Though I am a little disappointed, I never thought he would put Stars Hollow on that list.

He brushes a strand of hair away from my forehead and leans in and kisses me. I let my fingers get lost in his hair and effectively pull his face down harder against mine. He takes the hint and deepens the kiss. I have kissed Jess many times before, but because of the three year gap in our relationship, the sensations are new, being rediscovered. And a kiss like this is enough to drive me delirious.

As he breaks the kiss I find that he has moved me from my side onto my back. He's positioned himself between my legs and is pinning me down with his body. He goes for a second kiss and I wrap my legs around his waist in response. My hands wander over his chest, exploring every inch of his tight muscles. With a slight buzz after the alcohol I've been drinking tonight, I am more upfront than I would normally be and in a bold move I place my hand directly on him, delighted to once again feel his arousal, and stroke him through the fabric of his boxers. I feel his body tense and the ferocity of his kiss increase. I increase the pace and pressure of my touch just a little before pulling my hand back completely.

He breaks the kiss with a moan. He stares at me. His pupils are wildly dilated and his eyes are dark with want.

I grin at him.

He gives me what I would assume to be his withering stare before lightly biting my neck.

"You know," he bites my neck, "it's not," my jaw line, "polite," my bottom lip, "to tease."

I shrug playfully at him and he just rolls his eyes. Then he stares at the Tool t-shirt I'm wearing. His Tool t-shirt. He takes the covers and throws them off the bed and I giggle at him. He then crawls down the length of my body kissing my torso through the fabric.

"Too," a kiss, "much," another kiss, "clothes." He kisses me and catches the hem of the t-shirt between his teeth taking it with his as he crawls up my body. I laugh out loud at his antics and take the shirt off myself leaving me in my panties.

He grins. "Much better."

Latching on to a spot low on my neck he let's his hands explore my body. I close my eyes and concentrate completely on what I'm feeling. He moves lower and feel him lick a path between my breasts before sucking gently at my nipple. I moan and instinctively push my hips against him. He continues his movement with his mouth while letting one hand knead the other breast, his other hand travel lower still. When I feel his fingers stroke me I lose all trains of thought leaving everything up to him. Whatever he has on his mind, I'm game.

He tugs at my panties and I lift my hips to make it easier for him to remove them. He kisses his way down my body and then I take in a deep breath as I feel his tongue on me.

I start panting as his tongue gingerly explores the most sensitive area of my body. My fingers get lost in his hair, tugging and pulling trying to release the tension I'm experiencing.

"Oh, God," I arch my back as I feel him gently suck. I feel myself getting closer, but I don't wanna come just yet. I grab him by the shoulders and pull his to me for a passionate kiss to which he eagerly responds. Once again I wrap my legs around his waist and as I push my hips up they lock perfectly with his and he groans as he enters me. He waits for a moment letting me adjust, while busying himself with kissing my neck. He knows exactly where to kiss and I can tell by his smirk that he is satisfied with my reaction.

Then he thrusts into me and I embrace him. My arms go around his neck pulling him as close as he will allow me to. The force of his thrusts increase and I moan at the sensation. He knows exactly when to be gentle and when to just have his way with me. I move in time with him arching my back with his thrusts the two of us creating a rhythm that is just perfect.

Then he stops and I open my eyes questioning him. He grins at me and goes for a kiss. I feel him adjusting my hips a little then he grabs my knees untangling them from his waist, before bringing them up towards my chest. He removes my arms from his neck, tangles our fingers together and brings them up above my head. As he thrusts into me again I moan loudly at the new sensation as the angle is different. He pecks my lips and my nose and pushes his forehead against mine.

"Oh, Jess," I choke out. "Oh, don't stop." I'm close.

Instead he pushes harder and I can barely breathe. I respond by grinding my hips hard against his. Then everything goes blank and I let out a chocked scream as I reach my climax. Jess is right there with me and I can hear his groan even through my post-climax haze. I pull his head from it's resting place on my shoulder and kiss him. But I am not being gentle. I pour every emotion into that kiss with my lips, tongue and teeth. And he doesn't complain.

- - - -

I'm securely wrapped in Jess arms and his breath is tickling the back my neck as he exhales. I glance over my shoulder at his face. He's sleeping and he looks utterly peaceful. His hair is a mess and there are a few beads of sweat on his forehead that have yet to dry. He's beautiful. I kiss his cheek softly without waking him. Back in my original position I scoot the last inches closer to him and tuck myself into his body, feeling his bare body pressed against mine. His arms instinctively tighten their hold on me and I smile.

And that's how I fall asleep. Wrapped in my boyfriend's arms with a sleepy grin on my face.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	14. Stupid PostSecondary Education

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

STUPID POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION

I am stirred into semi-consciousness when I feel the bed dip slightly. My back is suddenly very cold and I wrap the covers tighter around my naked body. Something else is missing as well, but in my current state I am not able to pin point exactly what that something is. Cuddling into the pillow I let every muscle in my body relax waiting for sleep to overcome me.

I am about to drift off to sleep again when I feel a soft moist pressure, first on my forehead, then on my lips. A few words are spoken softly in my ear, but I can't make out what they are. Then there is nothing. And I successfully drift back to sleep.

- - - -

Slowly sleep is escaping me and I am starting to wake up. Jess has apparently moved during the night because he is no longer cuddling me and I really miss the contact. I turn over to my other side and fling my arm over on Jess' side reaching out for his body. But there is nothing there.

I slowly open my eyes, but quickly close them as the sunshine is simply too bright this early morning. I'm lying in the middle of the bed and I soon discover I am alone in it. Where did Jess go? Then realization kicks in. He's working. Oh, so that's what it was earlier. He was leaving for work. Glancing at the alarm clock on Jess' nightstand, I discover it's far from an early morning. In fact it's early afternoon. I groan and flip onto my back stretching out my body. I should probably get up. I should definitely get up.

Now that my mind is on board, I have to get my body to obey.

- - - -

"And she's up!" Matthew announces as I walk down the stairs to the bookstore.

"Good morning guys." I greet them.

"Good afternoon, Rory." Will says. "And he's in there checking the new deliveries." He points to the door of the storage room.

I nod in thanks and make my way through the shelves.

I open the door and knock lightly signalling my presence. Jess looks up from some sort of list and smirks as he sees me. I walk over to him and kiss him. His arm wraps around my waist and pulls me in. When we pull apart I smile at him and kiss his cheek.

He lets go of my waist and smirks at me. "I thought you'd sleep all day."

He goes back to his list and a newly arrived box of books.

"I wasn't planning on it." I smile.

Jess makes one final notation on his list then tosses it in the box. "There, done."

Closing the gap between us he once again pulls me into his body, this time using both arms to hold me in place. He kisses me sweetly on the lips and rests his forehead on mine.

"I missed you when I woke up." I whisper.

"Mhm." He kisses my nose.

"Say goodbye next time."

"I was only going down stairs." He chuckles and I make a face at him. "Besides I did say goodbye to you, I even kissed you, but you were completely comatose."

"Yeah, I was gonna ask you if you had any aspirin? I've got a bit of a headache. I think that sixth beer combined with the vodka was a mistake."

He strokes my cheek and kisses my forehead. "Sure. Let's go upstairs. I'm done here anyways."

Placing his hand on the small of my back he gently guides me through the store.

"Did you get done with the inventory, Jess?" Will asks.

"Yeah, I just put it in the box in there." Jess gestures to the store room.

"Okay, thanks."

"Do you guys need me to help out more today?"

"No, that's all right, it's slow today."

"Thanks."

"Thank you guys." I tell them before Jess pulls me upstairs with him.

- - - -

"Aspirin," Jess hands me two pills and a glass of water. "And water."

I swallow them hoping they will work as soon as possible, so I will be rid of the dull thudding in my head.

"Thanks," I say and he nods.

"What do you wanna do today?" He sits down next to me on the couch.

"I don't know." I throw my arm over his stomach and tuck myself into his side letting out a yawn.

"You've been sleeping 'till noon and you're still tired?" Jess wraps his arm around me.

"That's what Yale does, it sucks the life out of you." I mumble.

I cuddle further into Jess body and bury my face in his chest. I yawn again and feel myself getting sleepier by the second. Then my stomach protests with a growl.

"Are you hungry?" Jess chuckles.

I sigh, but don't move an inch trying to ignore the starving feeling in my stomach. A second growl breaks me completely out of my sleepy state, so I resurface my face and look up at Jess.

"Chinese take-out and a movie?"

"For lunch?" Jess raises his eyebrows at me in question.

"I'm a Gilmore." I say like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't care what you eat. You can eat a dry piece of toast if that's appealing to you, but I want Chinese."

"Chinese and a movie it is." Jess nods and reaches for the phone.

- - - -

Saturday went by just as fast as Friday and way before I was prepared to, it was Sunday night and I was saying goodbye to Jess.

"So…" I try to stall.

"So…" He returns.

I pout at him. "I don't wanna go."

"I don't want you to go." He smirks at me.

"Then don't make me."

He chuckles. "I'm not making you. Yale is making you."

"Stupid post-secondary education."

Jess takes a step closer to me and envelopes me in a hug. I sigh and wrap my arms tightly around him burying my face in his neck.

"Yale should be in Philadelphia." I say into his neck. "I don't know why they didn't think of that when they built it."

"Yeah, I can't believe they didn't think of us all those years ago when they were deciding where to build the university." He states sarcastically.

"Don't mock my craziness."

He doesn't respond just pulls me tighter and places a soft kiss on my neck.

"I'm gonna miss you." He whispers.

"Uh, you have no idea." I say my voice coming out in a whiny sound. "Are you sure you have to go away this weekend?"

He sighs.

"It looks that way. It's been scheduled for a couple of months and I am the one who always deals with this particular author, so…"

"You have to go." I finish for him.

"Yeah, I have to go."

He pulls out of our hug to look at me.

"But we'll talk on the phone and we'll definitely see each other next weekend, okay?"

I nod. "Next weekend."

"Yeah, next weekend." He whispers.

Then he slowly leans in and kisses me. And I respond immediately and passionately. He backs me up a few steps and I am suddenly leaning against the side of my car. He pushes me against it and the kiss heats up as he slips his tongue into my mouth. I part my legs a bit and he leans further into my body locking our hips together. I move my hands from his waist and let them travel slowly up his chest before ending all tangled-up in his hair. I moan softly as his fingers trace an abstract pattern on the skin of my stomach.

"Yup, that part definitely works." I say trying to catch my breath as we break the kiss. I look at him sadly. "I really have to go now."

I kiss him one last time, and then I get in my car.

"Drive safe." He says as he closes my door.

I wave to him as I pull away from the curb. It may sound corny, but it is really hard to drive away from him.

- - - -

A/N: Loved it? Hated it? Review and let me know.


	15. Nothing Out of the Ordinary

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

I've had some remarks about the chapters being short and while I agree that yes they are, that's how I like 'em. Besides longer chapters would mean less updates.

At the same time I would like to especially thank those of you who review almost every chapter. It's really touching that people are liking and sticking with the story. So thanks.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY

"Listen up guys!" I yell, effectively silencing the news room. "Has everybody got their assignments?"

Heads nod, mumbled yes' are heard throughout the room.

"Has everybody understood their assignments?" I clarify.

Again the consensus seems to be a yes.

"Fantastic. All news articles will be on my desk, fully edited, no first drafts, within deadline which is in three hours. Feature articles have to be handed in by deadline next Monday. Now get to work."

The room erupts in the familiar news room buzz as people begin this week's work. I really do hate Mondays and if it hadn't been for the paper, I would have gone crazy. I have spent my entire weekend studying, buried up to my neck in papers and books. I never even left my apartment. The only interruptions were eating and the occasional coffee refill. Oh, and Jess' phone calls of course. But they were welcome interruptions. It's been a week since I was in Philadelphia, meaning a week since I saw him last and I am going crazy missing him. Our relationship is so new that the butterflies in my stomach are present 24/7 and I want to spend all my time with him.

Fortunately, I've got work to distract me. And it does. Once I am fully engrossed in the article I'm writing, nothing else is on my mind. Not even my boyfriend.

- - - -

"Here you go, Ace."

I look up and my eyes meet Logan's.

"Hey, Logan. How are you?"

"I'm good. And I'll be even better once you approve this article, so that I can get out of here."

He gestures towards his article that he has thrown on my desk and I pick it up to look through it.

"Got a party waiting for you?" I ask.

"Something like that." He smiles.

I shake my head amused and start reading his article. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him sitting down on my desk waiting for me to finish.

"So how are you, Ace?" He asks.

"I'm great." I reply somewhat distracted. "This is superfluous." I say as I put a red mark around one of the paragraphs.

He doesn't respond, I continue making the few alterations I feel are necessary and then hand it back to him.

"Oh, come on, don't do this to me!" He exclaims in full exaggeration.

"If you don't make the edits, it won't be printed." I smirk at him.

His face scrunches up and he makes a whiny noise.

I laugh. "Come on, you big baby, you've got another hour 'til deadline."

He glares at me before going back to his desk.

- - - -

"Is it good? Well not good, I mean I just started out, so I can't be good yet, but was it all right? I mean was it decent? Is it printable?" Pete rants.

"Take a breath, Pete." I smile at him, trying to calm him down. "And yes, it is printable. It's actually quite good."

He looks very relieved. "Thank you." He breathes out and starts walking towards his desk. Then he turns back to me. "Thank you!"

"Your welcome, Pete. Just keep 'em coming."

Then Logan saunters over towards me tossing the article on my desk.

"Happy now?" He asks.

"We'll see," I smirk at him before I start reading.

About midways through the article, my phone buzzes against my desk signalling a new text message.

I ignore it and continue reading, but Logan, curious as always, glances at the display.

"Jess." He states.

My heart skips a beat and I read just a little faster, wanting to read the text message as opposed to Logan's article.

Logan, however, doesn't let it go. "Is this the same Jess as…?" He trails off.

"Yeah."

"Are you with him now?"

"Yes."

He nods, but doesn't comment.

"Okay, to print it goes." I toss Logan's article in the print pile.

"Thank you. So can I get out of here?"

"Yes, you are hereby dismissed."

"Bossy." He throws me a smile before heading towards the door.

I flip my phone open to read the text.

_The store is empty. Am incredibly bored. Call?_

I smile and text him back.

_Will do in ten minutes. Gotta finish up here first._

I go back to my work.

Then my phone rings.

"I told you, ten minutes." I giggle.

"What?" My mother's voice comes through the phone and my face drops.

"Oh, nothing I just thought you were…"

"Jess." She states.

"Yeah."

None of us say anything for a while. I don't think any of us knows what to say.

Mom sighs explosively.

"I don't wanna fight. I mean, I really don't wanna fight. I'm not a fighting person. I hate having fights with people, but mostly I hate having fights with you."

"I hate fighting with you too." I say quietly.

"So, how 'bout no fighting?" I can hear her smile in her voice and it makes me smile too.

"Sounds good." But then I remember why we were fighting in the first place. "But, mom about Jess…"

"Yeah, I know. I am still sceptical, but after our fight and then the phone conversation last weekend and many, many, many talks with Luke, I have decided to mellow a bit."

I smile. "Mellowing is good."

"Yes it is. But I wanna talk to him."

"Mom…" I warn her.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, just the standard hurt her and you will die, kind of thing."

"I suppose that's inevitable."

"To any guy dating my daughter, yes it is. So I was wondering if you and Jess could come down to the Hollow this weekend. We could have dinner, talk, whatever. Consider it a peace offering."

I would have preferred to have had Jess all to myself this weekend, but this is an opportunity I can't miss because I really want them to get along.

"That would be great, mom."

"Good." When she says that, she actually sounds like she means it.

"But Jess and I are staying at the Inn."

"No, Rory!" She whines like a three year old kid. "It will be so much nicer for you to stay here with you safely locked in your room and him on the couch…or the porch, we could do that too."

"Mom…"

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll reserve a room for you…with two beds."

"Fine, we'll fit into one." I say suggestively.

"Oh God." Sheer disgust. "A double bed it is."

"Thank you." I say sincerely and she knows I don't mean just the sleeping arrangements.

"You're welcome, kid."

"See you Friday."

"See you then."

We hang up.

And I suddenly become aware of the line of people that has formed in front of my desk.

"You done?" Mike asks.

"Yeah, yeah I'm done. Let me see." I take his article.

- - - -

After having hurriedly proof read the rest of the articles, I am finally free to call Jess.

"Hello?" Jess' tired voice comes through the phone.

"Hey, baby." I say in a sing-song voice.

"Hey." He says, his voice audibly brightening.

"I think we've covered the greetings." I giggle. "So, how are you? Less bored?"

"Well, I am now. Before I was falling asleep standing up."

I laugh. "You're just so devoted to your job."

"I will admit that the bookstore is not my favourite part of working in a publishing company. Too many people."

"Yeah, I can't imagine you, being such a people person, would actually enjoy customers."

He chuckles. "I don't."

"Anyways, I didn't call merely for your entertainment…"

"Oh, you didn't?"

"Nope. I just got off the phone with mom and…"

He cuts me off. "You guys are talking again?"

"Yeah, we made up."

"That's good."

"Yeah," I can hear the relieved tone in my own voice. "Anyways, she wants to do the traditional 'hurt her you die' speech with you, you know nothing out of the ordinary, so she was wondering if we would come spend the weekend in Stars Hollow."

"In Stars Hollow?"

"Yes."

"My very own definition of a hell-hole?"

"Jess, it's not a hell-hole," I can't help but laugh.

"Oh I beg to differ."

"Okay, so it's not your favourite place, but the geography wasn't really the point here."

"I know. I just wanted you alone this weekend."

"Yeah, me too."

"Matt and Will are away on business and Johnny's going to his girlfriend's place, so we'd have the apartment to ourselves all weekend."

"That sounds really nice…" I say momentarily forgetting Stars Hollow even exists.

"It does, doesn't it?" I can practically hear him smirk.

"But, Jess…"

"Yeah, yeah I know. We'll go to Stars Hollow."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but we're sleeping in shifts in case Lorelai tries to smother me with a pillow."

"She wouldn't do that. Besides we're staying at the Inn."

"We are?"

"Yup." I grin. "We'll be alone there too."

"Just what are you suggesting, Gilmore?" He teases.

"Use your imagination, Mariano." I tease right back.

"Oh, I am."

I laugh. "Well, save some ideas for Friday."

"Will do." He chuckles. "So, when do you want me there on Friday to pick you up?"

"My last class ends at 3, then I have to pack, so around four?"

"Okay."

"Okay, good."

"So, what have you been up to today…"

- - - -

A/N: Hope you liked it. Anyways, you know the drill; review and let me know.


	16. No Way in Hell

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

This chapter took me a while longer than I had intended due to several factors. Most prominent of which is that I'm struggling to come up with new ideas for this story. I know where I want it to end up, but getting there is kind of tricky. One thing I can promise is that the story will be finished and within reasonable time. I will not leave you hanging with an unfinished story and updates will not be too far apart.

Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

NO WAY IN HELL

"You are five minutes early." I say as I approach Jess who's casually leaning on the hood of his car.

"I wanted to try something new." He smirks and I return his gesture with a smile.

Finally I'm right in front of him and I wrap my arms around his neck, locking them there, hugging him tight. His arms snake around my waist and he pulls my entire body to lean against his. And we just stand there. Completely wrapped up in our moment. I sigh happily as I feel Jess place a kiss on my neck.

Pulling back slightly from our embrace I look into his eyes. "Hi." I smile.

"Hi."

"I think that's our favourite word. It can be our word."

"Right, other couples have a song, we have a word."

"It's good to be different. In fact, it's encouraged. You of all people have to agree on that."

"No argument." He smirks.

"Wait," I tilt my head at him, a small smile playing at my lips. "You want us to have a song?"

"I never said that."

I giggle. "I never thought you were that sentimental."

"I'm not." He emphasizes. "Besides the only song I can think of is 'Guns of Brixton'. And that's just…"

"Sad." I finish his sentence.

"Yeah."

He smiles and leans in to kiss me. The kiss is soft, deep, passionate and loving. All at once.

"Wow." I breathe as we break apart.

Jess nods and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "Two weeks is a long time."

"Oh, I know."

He lets go of me and takes my bag and tosses it in the back seat.

"Are you good to go?"

I nod.

- - - -

The car ride passes in silence. Well as much silence as a blaring 'The Strokes' CD will allow. I don't say anything and neither does he and it's completely comfortable. I'm just happy to see him again. Distance is hard. I imagined it would be hard, but actually experiencing it is worse. I've never been good with missing people. But the thing is, it's all worth it.

"Are we going to your mom's house first, or the Inn?" Jess asks me as we pass the 'Welcome to Stars Hollow' sign.

"The Inn. Mom is probably there waiting for us anyways."

"Great." He says without a trace of enthusiasm.

I look over at him, but his eyes are fixed on the road in front of us. On the other hand I only need one side of his face to tell that he's tense.

"Jess, you have to be nice to mom this weekend." I tell him seriously.

He sighs. "Hey, I'll be nice I'm just not looking forward to it."

"Promise me you'll be nice to her? This weekend is about you and her getting along. She's gonna make an effort, so you have to too."

He turns to me for a brief second before looking back on the road.

"Promise me." I repeat.

"I promise."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

He nods.

Crisis averted.

- - - -

We pull up in front of the Inn and Jess parks the car, but makes no move to get out.

"Let's go." I say to him.

"Just give me a second."

I raise my eyebrows at him in question.

"I'm mentally preparing myself for the beating, contemplating whether it would be morally correct to hit back when Lorelai goes for my throat." He explains.

I laugh at him. "You're so dramatic."

He makes a face at me. "Okay let's go." He says getting out of the car.

Jess takes our bags from the car and I grab his hand before we walk in.

- - - -

And as expected, mom is there to greet us.

"Rory!" She walks over to us and I let go of Jess' hand as she hugs me.

"I'm so happy to see you." She says and I smile.

"Me too."

Then she lets go of me and turns to Jess.

"Hi Jess."

"Hey, Lorelai."

"Nice to see you again."

Jess smirks. "Really?"

Mom can't help but smile. "Well, you know."

He nods.

"But," mom continues. "We are going to have fun this weekend and by the end of it; I'll like you and you'll like me and we'll all get along."

"That's the dream, isn't it?" Jess responds.

"I believe it is."

"Okay, well if you could give me the key to our room, I'll get our bags upstairs and you guys can catch up."

"Sure."

Mom goes behind the desk and hands Jess a key. "It's upstairs down the hall and to the left."

"Thanks." Jess kisses my cheek and heads upstairs.

"So," mom says. "It's now five fifteen, so I'd better hurry."

"What do you mean?"

"Well after all these years, Rory I would think you remember Friday night dinner starts at seven."

"I thought we didn't do those anymore."

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"I might have mentioned that Jess was coming…"

I'm horrified. "Why did you do that?"

"I was just so happy after our phone call and your grandmother called right afterwards and I told her we had made up and that you were coming. And then she says she wanted us over for dinner, but I said that you probably wouldn't want to go 'cause your boyfriend would be coming, then she said you should bring him because they wanted to meet him. Then I told her who he was and she said she definitely wanted you to bring him over and now…you're bringing him over."

She rants at an incredible speed and I barely catch what she's saying.

"I'm sorry, hun."

"No it's fine, I know how she is."

"Jess is gonna hate this isn't he?"

I sigh heavily.

"I'll see in about five minutes." I start climbing the stairs.

"I'll see you guys there. And don't be late!" Mom calls after me on her way out the door.

- - - -

The door to our room is open and I walk in. Jess is lying sprawled out on the bed. The bed. There's only one. Thanks mom.

Walking over to him I discover his eyes are closed and his breathing calm. Is he sleeping? Gently, I lie down next to him, but even that small movement stirs him out of his slumber.

He opens his eyes and turns to look at me.

"Are you tired?" I whisper.

He nods and rubs his eyes. "It's been a long week. And with the trip last weekend I didn't get to sleep much then either."

He yawns and closes his eyes again. He might be tired now, but I have a feeling he'll soon be awake.

"You have to get up." I say, still whispering.

He makes a sound of protest. "Can't we just skip whatever it is your mom has planned for tonight and just relax? We'll have all of tomorrow and Sunday anyways." He blindly throws an arm over me. "She'll understand."

"I'm sure mom will, but grandma usually isn't that understanding."

His eyes pop open and he's wide awake.

"And what does your grandmother have to do with it?"

"Well…" I look guiltily at him.

"Oh God," he groans loudly, turning over on his back. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Mom tried to get us out of it, but grandma wouldn't hear it." I explain.

"No way."

"Jess, please."

"No."

"Come on, it's one night. Three hours tops. And they'll be nice and if they're not, then just ignore them." I try to persuade him. "Luke will be there and he'll be just as miserable. In fact we'll all be miserable together."

He turns to me again. "There is no way in hell I'm going."

- - - -

"I'm not staying a second more than absolutely necessary." Jess says as we're standing outside the door of my grandparent's house.

"You think I'm staying longer then that?" Mom looks at him incredulous.

He turns his scowl to me. "You said Luke would be here to suffer with me."

I shrug.

"Luke doesn't come to these dinners." Mom says.

"Lucky bastard." Jess mutters.

"You should have worn a tie." I say to him.

"Rory, will you stop obsessing about the tie? You're lucky this suit was still in Luke's apartment, other wise I'd be wearing jeans."

"You wanted to wear jeans anyways." I remind him.

"And I am now wearing a suit, but no tie. That's called a compromise."

I roll my eyes at him and turn to mom. "Will you just ring the door bell? We've been standing here for five minutes."

"Its ten to seven. We have ten minutes and I'm not facing them until I absolutely have to."

"Second that." Jess pipes in.

"Fine." I can see I'm outnumbered.

We stand there in silence. Staring at the door.

"Oh my God, Jess, you like books!"

Jess raises his eyebrow at my outburst and looks at me strangely. "Yes, Rory I do. I'm glad you picked up on that after five years."

"No, no," I shake my head. "That's not what I mean. Grandpa loves books! He has a huge library, reads everything. We can talk about books. This is amazing. We might just get through this night alive. And you don't even have a black eye!"

Jess smirks. "Well, your grandfather will be easier to deal with than your grandmother. I mean, look at Lorelai. She's her daughter and she's petrified."

"Yes, petrified." Mom says.

I roll my eyes at her and turn back to Jess. "Now last minute instructions: no mouthing off whatsoever. Sarcasm is a complete waste with them, they will not understand and be offended, and even though they do understand that it's not mean-spirited, they will be offended. And when they are offended, forget it, they'll hate you forever. And I mean forever, forever. They will outlive you out of spite and make everyday miserable for you. Just ask Mrs Hoffman."

"Who?" Jess asks.

"You don't wanna know, just trust me on this."

"Okay."

"And you must under no circumstances steal anything from the house."

Jess frowns "Excuse me?"

"No matter how small the item, it'll be worth a fortune, they will notice and it'll be horrible."

"Rory, where is this coming from?"

"Logan." Mom says.

"Logan, what?"

"He was over here once for dinner," I explain. "He has this thing he does, when he visits rich people he takes a small item, nothing big, then when he visits the next house he exchanges it with something from that house. And so it goes. He's been doing it for years and he did it here and my grandparents noticed immediately and freaked out."

"Logan was too chicken to tell them, they blamed the maid and wanted to fire her. So I took the item from him and pretended I found it on the table." Mom finishes.

"That's ridiculous." Jess shakes his head.

"Yeah, it is." I say. "And by the way I know you weren't gonna steal anything. I'm just freaking out here a little bit."

He smirks at me. "Just a little."

"It's seven." Mom announces and rings the door bell.

All three of us take a deep breath.

Then the door opens.

- - - -

A/N: Please review, you know you want to.


	17. Seriously Beaked

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has EVER read or reviewed this story. I hit 200 reviews now this past chapter, which is simply amazing and I am truly grateful.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

SERIOUSLY BEAKED

"Good evening." The maid greets us and leads us into the house. "Mr and Mrs Gilmore are in the living room." She takes our coats and disappears down the hallway.

"We can still run." I hear Jess mumble behind me. Turning my attention to him I see that the scowl he has been wearing for the past hour is still present.

"Oh, come on Jesse, it'll be fun!" Mom says trying to sound enthusiastic.

Jess scoffs and is about to comment, but mom grabs his arm and practically drags him towards the living room. I myself am starting to get really nervous, taking a deep breath to prepare myself I follow.

"Hello, Lorelai." My grandmother greets mom. then turns to me for a hug. "Hello, Rory. How's school?"

I return the hug. "It's good, grandma. A lot of work, but…"

"That's how it's supposed to be." Grandpa adds.

"I suppose so." I hug my grandfather.

Mom has sat down and Jess is standing awkwardly a couple of feet from me. He's fidgeting, shifting his weight from one foot to another. I know it may be mean, but I'm actually enjoying watching him squirm. It's not often one sees Jess Mariano nervous, so when it happens, it's a moment to savour.

Grandpa turns his attention from me to Jess. "And who is this young man?"

I can see Jess bite back a sarcastic remark about the young man comment.

I smile. I can't help it. Jess has that effect on me. "This is my boyfriend Jess Mariano. Jess this is my grandfather Richard Gilmore."

They shake hands. "Nice to meet you, Jess."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Gilmore." He's being so well behaved I almost burst out laughing. A quick glance at my mother tells me she too is having problems. So that's what it takes to freak Jess out. A set of grandparents. Good to know.

"And I believe you two have met." I say gesturing to my grandmother.

"Briefly." Grandma says. She extends her hand to Jess. "Nice to see you again, Jess."

"You too, Mrs. Gilmore."

A rather fake smile spreads on her face. At the moment I don't even want to think about what she has on her mind.

"What would you like to drink?" Grandpa says interrupting the awkward silence that had descended on us.

Jess and I plop down on the couch. I shift a little closer so that we're side by side.

"So far so good." I whisper.

He turns to me and smirks. "Two hours and forty five minutes to go."

- - - -

Grandma carefully puts her fork down, placing it perfectly in the side of her plate. Then dabs her napkin against her mouth, before straightening her back and clearing her throat. "So, Jess…"

Oh God here it comes.

"What college do you attend?" She feigns curiosity.

I glance helplessly at my mother, but she just shrugs. There's nothing we can do to stop it.

"I'm not in college." Jess answers shortly and takes another bite. Seem like he knows exactly where this is headed and he has no intention of going there.

"You're not?"

"Nope." He spears a piece of food with his fork.

Mom rolls her eyes. "Mom, you know this, I told you when you asked me about it two days ago."

"Lorelai." Grandma sends her a look. "You don't want a college degree Jess?"

"Not really."

Grandma keeps her gaze on him obviously expecting him to elaborate. Jess knows, but makes no sign of continuing. He just carries on eating. I realize grandma is being rude, but Jess acting likewise is not helping things. I gently elbow him in the ribs. His gaze meets mine and I gesture for him to continue. He sighs and puts down his fork.

"I work for a publishing house, occasionally picking up shifts at the adjoining bookstore and I write." Jess sums up his professional life in one sentence. He turns to me and raises an eyebrow and I can practically hear him say; 'happy now?'

Grandma is about to speak, but grandpa cuts her off. "You write Jess?" He says, genuine interest showing through.

"Yeah."

"Well, what kind of writing? Have you published anything?"

"A short-novel of mine got published."

"Really?"

Thank God for my grandfather.

"Yeah. Nothing fancy, very limited release, author promoted. I had to go around begging independent bookstores to carry it." Jess downplays his accomplishment.

"Well one has to start somewhere." Grandpa concludes and I can tell by Jess' expression that he is proud of it, though he would never say it.

"The book is really good, grandpa." I say.

"I should read it then."

I smile. "You certainly should. I'll lend you my copy." I turn to find Jess staring at me. My smile widens to a grin as I see the small smirk on his face.

- - - -

Desert is well underway and a quick glance at my watch shows that we've been here for an hour and fifty-five minutes. I suppress a giggle as I find both mom and Jess glancing at their watches as well.

Dinner went relatively well, some snide comments from my grandmother to Jess, but no offence seemed to be taken. Grandpa seems to like Jess, at least they have talked to each other without arguing and grandpa has not shown any obvious signs of disgust. Grandma seems unhappy about that. She is determined not to like him and I've seen her getting increasingly annoyed every time grandpa and Jess would talk. Jess has remained calm, borderline rude at times, but that is to be expected. Grandpa has been wonderful and I make a mental note to thank him later. And mom has refrained from making the matters worse and has been on her best behaviour all night. Myself, I am finally able to breathe without hyperventilating.

"Jess, you look well." My grandmother comments seemingly out of the blue.

I should have known she wasn't done.

Jess looks confused. "Uhm, thanks." He answers somewhat like a question. He casts a quick glance at me and I shrug, not knowing where she's going with this.

"A handsome young man."

"Calm down, mom, he's off the market." Mom says.

Jess sends her a death glare almost matching the one grandma is giving her. And I unsuccessfully try to contain my laughter.

"Honestly, Lorelai." Grandma says.

Mom smiles triumphantly and goes back to her desert.

"Rory, compose yourself."

I stop laughing. "Sorry, grandma."

"I was trying to pay a compliment to your boyfriend. I hadn't noticed the last time because of the black eye."

Jess rolls his eyes and slumps back on his chair.

"What black eye?" Grandpa asks.

"Don't you remember I told you, Richard?" Grandma asks turning her attention to Jess. "The last time Jess visited he had a black eye covering most of his face."

Jess mumbles something next to me, but I can't hear it.

"How did that happen?"

Jess doesn't seem like he has any intention of answering, so I do it for him, fishing out from my memory the explanation he had given me three years earlier. "He'd been throwing a football with a friend and it hit him in the eye."

My grandfather seems at ease with this explanation, and grandma seems to accept defeat.

"You play football?" Mom asks laughing.

Jess just glares at her.

- - - -

"Isn't this amazing?" I tug on Jess hand and bring him closer.

He examines the bookshelf carefully and his response is distant. "Yeah."

I smile and reach up to kiss his cheek. "I knew you would love it!"

We continue to search grandpa's library, randomly selecting books to show the other.

Jess sits down in the leather armchair. "Come here," He says softly and pulls me down to sit in his lap.

He wraps his arms around me and rests his head on my shoulder. I can feel him breathe against my neck and I kiss his forehead in response to the soft kiss he places there.

"Let's just stay here 'till we have to leave." He resurfaces his face to look at me.

I nod and kiss him.

We sit there in silence for a while. Jess' tiredness seems to be contagious and I start to feel my own exhaustion. Sink further into Jess' lap and rest against his body. He places a chaste kiss on my temple and I close my eyes.

Thinking back to the dinner we had here last time and the dinner we just had now, they couldn't have been more different. During the first dinner grandma had been overwhelmingly nice and Jess had done nothing but spit out venom at any comment any of us made. Of course the dinner had been cut short as we had an argument ending in Jess storming out all before the appetisers were finished. This time, Jess had been as polite as Jess can be to people he doesn't particularly care for and grandma had been her usual self. Still, compared to how it could have gone, tonight was a success in my mind.

"Hey, Ror?"

I look up at him.

He's playing absently my hair, letting it slowly slip through his fingers. "You know the black eye?"

I nod.

"I didn't get that from a football."

I nod again. Come to think of it, there had always been something off with the notion of Jess playing football. Not to mention the fact that he claimed to have a buddy in Stars Hollow. Because we all know that's just ridiculous.

"How did you then? You didn't get in a fight with Dean, because he said so and there is no way he would cover for you. Did you have a fight with someone else?"

He hesitates. "Sort of."

"With who?"

He drops his head before coming back up just a second later. "I was walking by this dock and a swan came out of nowhere and beaked me in the eye."

I stare at him. "Okay, that's an even lamer story then the football one. Who did you fight with?"

"It's true. Come on, do you really think I would tell you something like that without it being true?"

He has a point. It isn't like Jess to tell embarrassing stories about himself. And certainly not making them up.

I grin. "You seriously got beaked by a swan?"

"I seriously got beaked by a swan." He repeats.

I burst out laughing.

- - - -

A/N: Damn, those grandparents are hard to write. I made a heroic effort, but I'm just not able to write Richard and Emily Gilmore well. Not even in the vicinity of well.

I know this isn't the greatest thing I've written, so bombard me with angry reviews if you wish. Positive ones are, as always, appreciated.


	18. Good Thing

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read. Additional thank you's to those who read AND reviewed.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

GOOD THING

"Wow." Mom says.

Jess and I just nod in agreement, both too shocked by recent events to say anything.

"I mean…wow." Mom continues. Her face scrunches up in a weird grimace and she turns back and forth between the door and us a couple of times. "Did that just happen?"

"I believe it did." I say finding my voice.

"You bring over Jess, who's only previous appearance at this house ended in complete disaster, and dinner actually goes semi-well."

"Who would have thunk it?"

"Not me." Jess says.

Mom turns to Jess. "My mother was actually nice to you. Fake nice, but still. And Logan's name was only mentioned on three occasions. She ripped on Luke, but that's standard, yet she more or less let you off the hook."

"Except for a couple of comments on my lack of education."

"Well that's to be expected." Mom says and Jess shrugs. "So, do you guys wanna stop by our place for a cup of coffee or something?"

I look over at Jess. "I think we're just gonna head back to the Inn."

"Sure, hun." She gives me a hug. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Luke's for breakfast?" I suggest.

"Sounds good. Goodnight Jess."

"Goodnight." He replies.

Mom gets in her car and with one last wave she drives off.

Jess sighs and rubs his eyes. "God, I'm tired."

I give him a sympathetic look. "You want me to drive?"

He doesn't respond, just tosses me the keys.

- - - -

I pull out on the main road heading towards Stars Hollow. Arctic Monkeys is quietly playing on the stereo and is at the moment the only sounds heard.

Once in a while I cast quick glances at Jess. He's sitting leaned back in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. I note to myself how good he looks with the white dress shirt against his own olive complexion. Earlier tonight Jess had refused to put on his suit jacket until absolutely necessary; meaning when we exited the car at my Grandparent's house. And the second we had gotten in the car to leave he had taken the jacket off.

Stopping at a red light I turn towards him again. This time he notices my gaze on him.

He cracks one eye open and raises an eyebrow in question. "Yes?"

I blush and turn my eyes back to the road. The light turns green and I drive on. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Jess smirking with his eyes once again closed.

"You were great tonight." I tell him.

He turns to look at me briefly before he turns back.

"Really you were," I say. "Grandma may not have been as evil as she could have been, but she wasn't too polite either."

He just shrugs. "It was fine."

Though the dinner went well, I am a little worried Jess was offended by my Grandmother's comments about college. She had of course found a way to wiggle into the conversation the fact that both Logan and I go to Yale.

As if he reads my mind he says. "I don't care what she thinks." He looks at me. "I care what you think."

I look over at him, meeting his eyes. "Well, then you have nothing to worry about."

He chuckles.

"Grandpa was great though," I say. "He wasn't even fake nice."

"At first he was," Jess reminds me. "But the book thing really worked."

"I knew it would. Isn't his collection amazing?" I can't hide the excitement in my voice. Books always make me giddy, particularly Grandpa's collection of first editions. And then to top it off, the feeling of relief that comes with the fact that we just had a good Friday night dinner. I was nervous about tonight and in a way I am grateful to mom for springing this on us last minute. If she had told me earlier, I would have been dreading it all week and I would have been reduced to a nervous wreck by tonight. This way, we had enough to think about just getting ready, finding a suit for Jess, getting Jess to wear the suit when we found it and then to arrive here on time, we simply didn't have time to be nervous. Thank God for small favours.

"It really was amazing. He must have been collecting for years."

"Yeah, he has. Before you came along he was really the only one who shared my passion for literature."

"Good thing I showed up then." He tosses me a look.

"Yeah," I say. "Good thing."

- - - -

The streets of Stars Hollow are dark and empty. As they always are after nine o'clock. Not a single car in sight. The only living creature to be seen is a woman walking a dog. A shady looking dog.

"Is that Paul Anka?" I wonder out loud. Jess looks in their direction despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to tell whether or not that's Paul Anka, since he has never seen him.

"Fuck, that's my mother." He groans and sinks down in the seat covering his face with his hands presumably to keep from being discovered.

"I can still see you." I tease.

He responds with an offended grunt.

"Why would your mom be walking Paul Anka?"

"I don't really care, now floor it, let's get out of here."

Then Stars Hollow's one and only traffic light turns red. I bring the car to a halt.

Jess resurfaces his face and glares at me. "Why are you stopping?"

I gesture to the light signal.

"There are no other cars around, just go."

"Jess, I can't brake the law just to avoid your mother."

"Sure you can, I have."

I am somewhat taken aback by his comment. I am about to ask him about it when Liz knocks on his window.

Jess sighs loudly and mutters under his breath. "I can't believe the one traffic light in this miserable town turns red at this very moment." He opens the window.

"Jess!" Liz greets him enthusiastically. "I can't believe you're in town. I had no idea."

He shrugs.

"Hi, Liz." I give her a small wave.

"Hi, Rory. How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm great." She smiles warmly and turns to Jess. "So, your uncle told me you guys were back together."

Jess nods.

"That's great, Jess. So, you're doing good?"

He nods again.

I notice his tense facial expression. It would look indifferent to most people, but I know him well enough to know that he's upset.

When she doesn't seem able to strike up much of a conversation with her son, Liz turns her attention to me.

"You're probably wondering why I'm walking your mom's dog."

"Kinda, yeah."

"Luke isn't too into the whole dog thing, so when your mom was going for dinner tonight I offered to walk him."

"That was nice of you." I can't stand small talk. I don't know Liz and I honestly have no idea what to talk to her about.

"Well, I guess I should get this guy home," Liz says. "Maybe I'll see you guys around this weekend?"

"Chances are you will." I say. "Bye."

Both Jess and I breathe a sigh of relief as I steer the car towards the Inn.

- - - -

Jess has hardly said anything since we talked to his mother and I am starting to worry. What is this effect she has on him? I'm wondering what events passed between them when he was growing up. What she has done to him and what he has done to her to make their relationship this tense.

Jess comes over to the bed and lies down next to me. But he's not looking at me. He's staring at the ceiling with a strange intensity.

"Are you okay?" I ask him quietly.

"I'm fine." But his voice gives him away. He's not able to hide these things from me anymore. I know him too well.

"Really? Because…"

He cuts me off. "Let's just go to sleep."

He leans into briefly kiss me. Then he turns over on his side with his back to me.

It would be three hours before I was able to sleep.

- - - -

A/N: Did you like it? Reviews are always encouraged and appreciated.


	19. Delicate

A/N: Okay, as you can see the status of this story has been changed from "in progress" to "complete". And no, that is not me pressing the wrong button by mistake, this is indeed the last chapter of "Rationality". I feel I've accomplished what I wanted with the story and this is a good way to end it.

The fact that so many people have read, reviewed and enjoyed this story is very touching and I thank you for it. This was my first ever fanfic, so I think the reception has been unbelievable.

Oh, and even though this is the last chapter, reviews are more than welcome. Tell me what caught your attention in this chapter or the overall story. Thanks.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls ain't mine and none of the characters are either.

- - - -

DELICATE

The soft sound of running water gently pulls me out of my sleep. I don't have to turn over or even open my eyes to realize I'm once again waking up alone. Still I flip over on my other side and reach for the body I know I won't find, settling for his pillow instead. Sleep is threatening to reclaim me, so I snuggle further into the bed. I make a mental note to tell my mom just how unbelievably comfortable the beds are. The sound of the water stops abruptly and I open my eyes waiting for Jess to enter.

A few minutes later he does. His hair is wet from the shower and is falling in front of his eyes. He's wearing a pair of jeans he has yet to button and no shirt.

He catches me staring at him and somewhat reluctantly meets my eyes.

"Morning." I say sleepily.

He runs his hands through his hair. He's nervous. "Morning." His voice is soft and barely audible.

Still somewhat bewildered by his sudden mood change last night, I don't say anything. I leave the talking up to him.

He just stands there. Staring. I stare back. Not a harsh stare. It's not a stand off. But I want him to talk.

He sighs and rubs his hands over his face. Coming over to the bed he sits down and I scoot over to allow him more room. He leans back against the headboard and I sit up next to him. The slight anger I was feeling quickly vanishes as I take in his tired expression.

With my forefinger I trace the dark rings under his eyes. "You didn't sleep?"

He shrugs.

"Why not?" I lean my chin on his shoulder. Half expecting him to pull away I am happy when he doesn't.

"Thinking." His voice is still barely above a whisper.

"About what?"

"I…" He pauses. "Nothing."

I raise my eyebrows in question. "Really?" I say, hoping I sound as unconvinced as I feel.

He rests his hand on my knee. It feels warm even through the sheets. "Yeah, nothing for you to worry about." He kisses my forehead.

I look him sharply in the eyes. "Jess, if you're upset then I want you to tell me."

"I'm fine."

Not convinced, but tired of trying to force something out of him, I give up.

"Okay, then." I get out of bed and start gathering fresh clothes. "So, are you ready for a day in Stars Hollow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Oh, come on! It will be fun." I say, my voice cheery, hoping my enthusiasm will rub off on him.

He snorts.

Giggling at his childish reluctance I fish a black top out of my bag. "I'm gonna shower real quick and then it's Luke's for breakfast."

"Okay." He nods and pulls a t-shirt over his head.

"But seriously though, Jess, if anything is bothering you; tell me. It's part of this whole relationship thing." I toss him a smile and close the bathroom door.

- - - -

The bell above the door jingles as Jess and I enter the diner.

"Over here!"

I turn around to find mom sitting at a corner table.

"Hi mom."

Jess trails behind me as I make my way over to her table. She hugs me and greets Jess as he slumps down on a chair. I sit down next to him and he drapes an arm casually along the back of my chair.

"So, Jess, are you recovering from last night?" Mom says.

His brow furrows. "What do you mean?" The tone of his voice is almost aggressive.

Mom seems taken aback. "The dinner with my parents."

"Oh," his face and tone goes back to normal. "Yeah, it was all right."

His gaze drifts slowly around the diner, like he's surveying his surroundings. Mom silently questions me and I can't offer any response other than a shrug of my shoulders.

Mom directs her attention back to me. "How about you, kid? Relived?"

I nod. "Definitely relieved. They're always so difficult, but last night really surprised me."

"What can I get you?" Luke appears at our table.

"Blueberry pancakes."

"Ooo me too." Mom says.

Luke turns to Jess who has shifted is intense gaze to the square outside.

When he gets no response he kicks Jess' foot.

Jess' head whips around. "What the hell?"

"What's up with you?" Luke says sounding equally confused.

Jess rolls his eyes at that and offers no further response.

"The Gilmore's were that bad?" Luke says, a small smirk playing at his lips. Not a smirk of sympathy though. That's karma for you, Jess.

"They were fine."

And with that Luke gives up. "Do you want anything for breakfast?"

"Whatever they're having."

Luke rolls his eyes and walks back to place our order. Jess suddenly gets up.

"Be right back."

I watch him catch up to Luke who's moving around refilling coffee. He trails him around the diner, seemingly trying to talk to him. Finally Luke sighs and points upstairs. Jess nods and disappears through the curtain behind the counter.

"Cesar, I'm going upstairs!" Luke soon follows.

"What was that about?" Mom says.

"I don't know."

"Your boyfriend sure is in a charming mood today." She takes a long sip of her coffee.

"Tell me about it. I have no idea what caused whatever funk he's in. I kept asking him about it this morning, but all he would say was that he was fine. And he's not. I know he's not."

Mom lays a comforting hand on my arm. I drop my head and take a deep breath. This is upsetting me more than I thought.

"I wish he would tell me, you know. It was supposed to be different this time. We've both promised to be better and now he's shutting me out. It's like we're back at square one."

"Oh, sweetie, it's not that bad. Just let him sulk for a while and get it together. He'll probably tell you. Maybe he just needs to gather his thoughts first."

I'm amused. "Are you actually taking Jess' side?"

She looks horrified. "Never!"

I laugh.

"I'm just rationalising." She clarifies. "But let me tell you," she leans in for effect. "If he hasn't gotten it together by tomorrow, I will…"

I stop her. "No need to make threats, mom."

"Just so you know."

"Oh, I know."

Then Luke and Jess come back downstairs.

Jess sits back down next to me. I am about to ask him about his disappearance, but just as I turn Jess lips land on mine in a sweet kiss.

The kiss is quick and I was too caught off guard to respond.

As he pulls back he flashes me a smile and concentrates on the plate of food Luke sets in front of him. The sour mood from this morning seems to have subsided and I exhale the breath I have been holding since last night.

- - - -

Today had been good. Really good. After breakfast mom had dragged us around the entire town. It had been so long since Jess had lived here, she thought it be wise to treat him to the tourist experience. We had inspected Stars Hollow's very limited selection of historical sites, shops and lunch at Al's had been mandatory. Jess had gone along with it, with surprisingly few protests. During lunch mom had not-so-subtly asked me to leave the table so she could talk to Jess. The hurt-her-and-die speech had gone quick. There probably wasn't much Jess hadn't already heard before or assumed. After lunch Jess had insisted on going to the bookstore, at which point mom told us to have fun and went off to see Luke. The bookstore had been good. Just like the day had been. Then we ran into Liz. The quite innocent conversation between Jess, Liz and I had soon turned into a screaming match between mother and son. After which Jess had stomped off leaving me with a near hysterical Liz in the middle of the town square.

Which brings us to this point.

Stars Hollow only as one traffic light. And it is not stocked full of street lights either. The result of which being that I am currently walking around in semi-darkness. My search, however, is short-lived. Jess may be a bit of a rebel, but he's ridiculously predictable at times, so I am not at all surprised to find him sitting on the bridge.

The wooden planks creek as I walk towards him. He looks up at me briefly, but does nothing more to acknowledge my presence.

"That was eventful." I say.

He snorts.

I've suddenly had enough. "Will you stop being such an asshole and tell me what the hell's going on!"

He rubs his face in his hands. "Fuck, I need a cigarette."

"What's with you today?" He is about to answer, but I cut him off. "And don't say nothing, because I know it's not nothing."

"Fine it's not nothing, but it's got nothing to do with you!"

"You can't be serious?" I'm incredulous. "It's got everything to do with me. When you give me the silent treatment all day, you make it about me!" I sigh, feeling all the anger seep out of me along with my breath. My voice softens to barely above a whisper. "You can't treat me like this, Jess. It's exactly what happened last time and it's just not fair."

Finally he nods and gestures for me to sit.

I sit down close to him.

"I didn't mean to…" He apologizes.

"Okay." I accept.

He breathes in deep and exhales explosively. "My upbringing wasn't exactly all happy go lucky like yours…"

He doesn't touch me. He looks out on the water, his eyes glazed over. It's like he's not really aware I'm here. Like he's not talking to anyone in particular. It's like he just has to get it off his chest. He's running on auto pilot. He tells it like it is. No excuses. Nothing is sugar coated for my benefit. The harsh truth is thrown out in the open for me to digest. Everything spills out of him in a consistent stream of words. His childhood. His parents. How he'll never forgive either one of them. His out-of-control teenage years. How trapped he had felt in Stars Hollow. California. New York City. Philadelphia. Everything.

And all I can do is listen.

By the time he's finished I feel like someone has punched me in the stomach.

"I really need a cigarette." He says softly.

"I think I need one too." I say and he chuckles.

I look at him. "Thanks for sharing."

"Welcome." He smirks and affectionately pushes a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "It was all right. This whole sharing thing."

I smile and lean in to kiss him. He let's me take complete control and relaxes into me. My movements are slow. Soft. Delicate. Resting his hands on my hips, he gently urges me closer. And as we break the kiss, I hug him. Feeling him sharply exhale into my neck tells me that was just the right thing to do.

I close my eyes and let myself get lost in our moment.

"I love you," he whispers moments later.

My eyes pop open and I pull away from him.

He shrugs at my questioning stare. "Just thought I'd say it for real this time."

"Yeah…for real." I whisper, still surprised. "I love you too."

He smirks and rests his forehead against mine.

"Oh, do you now?"

"Mhm," I giggle against his lips as he kisses me.

- - - -

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." It took a lot of convincing to get Jess and Luke to agree to watch this, but mom and I had been persistent. And apart from the occasional snort and sarcastic comment, they don't really seem to mind.

"Popcorn?" I request reaching out for the bowl without taking my eyes from the screen.

Mom hands me the bowl, she too without looking because the bowl turns out to be empty.

"Oh no." I whine.

Jess raises an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"I need popcorn to enjoy the movie."

"Really?" He says. "I've been eating popcorn, but the enjoyment's still lacking."

I elbow him in the ribs.

"There's no popcorn?" Mom whips her head around to me.

Is shake my head sadly. Before I can respond audibly the movie's paused and mom grabs the bowl and my hand dragging me into the kitchen.

"We need new supplies!" She announces.

"At least take some of the garbage with you!" Luke calls after us.

His request goes unanswered and he mutters.

"Okay, what do we have…" Mom starts rummaging around in the cupboards and I can hear the noises of a football game from the living room.

I put another bag of popcorn into the microwave and hop up to sit on the counter next to mom.

"So…" I say.

She looks at me strangely. "So?"

"What do you think?"

"What do I think of what?"

"Jess."

"What do I think about Jess?"

"Yes."

"Jess?"

"Yes."

Mom grins and I roll my eyes.

"Oh, come on, mom. That wasn't even funny the first time."

"Oh, I beg to differ."

I sigh. "Be serious, mom."

Mom nods and momentarily stops her search for junk food. "I'm still sceptical."

I make a face at her.

"But, not as sceptical as I was before."

"I guess that's…good?" I ask.

She smiles. "Yes, it is."

I nod.

"Listen, hun," she looks at me. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I hate him and will never get along with him. I'm just being your mom here, you know? I'm always gonna worry. And Jess always makes me worry a little more."

I start to protest, but she stops me.

"And he does seem different. This weekend he's been so sweet to you. He's treated you good and that sort of…confuses me."

"He is different."

She nods.

"If I can forgive him, why can't you?" I ask her.

She stares at me for what seems like hours.

"You guys are really serious, aren't you?"

"Dead serious." My eyes never leave hers.

Then her face softens.

"Okay." She says.

"Okay?" I smile.

She smiles back. "Okay."

The microwave beeps, so I take the popcorn and pour it into a bowl while mom pulls a couple of bags of assorted candy out of the cupboard.

"Let's go." She walks in front of me into the living room. "Come on boys, back to the movie."

I grin at the collective groan heard from the guys. Soon the movie is once again playing, because we all know they may protest, but they can't resist. For too long anyways. I plop down next to Jess and lean into him. His response is immediate and affectionate as he wraps an arm around me tightly. I lean up to place a chaste kiss on his jaw. Resting an arm across his stomach and snuggling further into him, I concentrate on the movie.

- - - -

"Jess?" I whisper.

No response.

"Jess?"

Still nothing.

I twist awkwardly in his arms to see his face. His eyes are closed and his breathing is soft and even. He's asleep. I shift onto my other side so that I'm facing him. Scooting closer I press my bare body against his. I sigh as a warm feeling rushes through my body at the feeling of this intimate position.

"Jess?" I run my fingers through his hair and tug gently.

His eyes slowly open. "What?"

"Nothing, really."

"Why did you wake me, then?"

My fingers dance lightly on his skin tracing random patterns across his chest. "Don't know. Just felt like it."

He snorts at that and it makes me smile.

"You're crazy, you know that?" He mumbles.

I ignore him. "We've come a long way, haven't we?"

The sudden seriousness of the conversation has caught him off guard and he just nods.

"I mean…" I'm suddenly at a loss of words myself.

"I know what you mean." He says.

"A long way." I repeat.

"A long way." He parrots.

We're both lost in thought for a moment.

Then Jess catches me by surprise and I let out a shriek as he flips us over and pins me down on the mattress. He kisses me passionately and let's his hands roam my body.

"As long as we're awake…" He growls against the skin of my chest.

I laugh out loud at his joke, but soon I am concentrating only on the feeling of his tongue on my body.

- - - -

A/N: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.


End file.
